


Two Halves of the Whole

by Fiery_archer_lav3nder_P1x1e



Category: Merlin (TV), Merlin (TV) RPF
Genre: Alpha!Lance, Alpha!Merlin, Alpha!Mithian, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Bonding, Boys Kissing, Child Abandonment, Disappearance, Ealdor, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Escape Plans, Father-Son Relationship, Feels, First Love, First Meet, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Growing Up, Imprisonment, London, Love, M/M, Magic, Magic!Merlin, Manipulation, Mates, Merlin - Freeform, Mithian - Freeform, Mother-Son Relationship, Omega!Freya, Omega!Gwen, Omega!Vivian, Omega!will, Original Character(s), Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, Sexual Tension, Sweetness, Teen Pregnancy, boys falling in love, change in perspective, contaiment, doctor gaius, dog kilgharrah, omega!Arthur
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-07-14 18:53:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 46
Words: 79,970
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7185941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fiery_archer_lav3nder_P1x1e/pseuds/Fiery_archer_lav3nder_P1x1e
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a world where Alphas and Omegas are seen as sub-human, treated like animals, and isolated from the world, two boys find each other.  The world may not see them as anything, but to each other, and the rest of their kind, they're a beacon of hope.  They've survived years in a system that looks only to obliterate those with their special capabilities, but once they find each other, they take their lives back.... together.  Who knows what this could mean for the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I grew up as Merlin, not as an Alpha

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction and I'm very excited. I have no idea what I'm doing, there is no schedule (unless people start demanding more)... Basically, I'm just here to write. I want all the feedback you have to give.

We were thought of as vermin; something unnatural, to be poked and prodded and “contained”. There’s not much difference between our two species, and yet we’re called Lycan-hybrids and those without the gene are called human; I was born to two human parents, but by the time I was nine they knew something was different about me. The day I was born was one of the happiest days of my parents’ lives, they named me Merlin after an old relative, and yet as I grew up I started to notice the changes in their affection.

I was nine when my mother told me that I wasn’t allowed to have any more birthday parties; I had cried all day, and when my mother had gone out later, I was tearing up my party supplies when I found the stack of invites. None of my friends from school had RSVP-ed to come, and the last one in the pile had a hasty note scribbled at the bottom that said “How dare you, you should be ashamed”. I threw everything in the trash bin and went back up to my room to cry myself to sleep. 

My mother took me out of school shortly after that, and I was too depressed to question it. “Those professors don’t understand anything Merlin; I don’t want them filling up your head with horrible thoughts. I’ll arrange something where you can stay on schedule, but I’ll be the one to teach you. You’ll like that, won’t you Merlin?”

Turned out that it was twice as hard to get my lessons started at home; there were tests that both my mother and I had to take, certification that she would need, and I would have to take certain tests throughout my courses just to make sure that I wasn’t falling behind my peers. And it was only a matter of time, even though I didn’t know, there was a clock already ticking away the time I would have left with my family. It happened when I was thirteen; I had already gone through enough health lessons to know that puberty involved voice changes, hair in new places, and zits, but what I got wasn’t just wet dreams.

The only way that I can explain it is to imagine that you’re having a night terror; your body is physically acting on the mental stimulus; except in my case, my mother was shaking me awake while I was thrusting into my soft mattress with my full strength and my teeth sunk into my pillow. My mother didn’t bother with me at all that day, instead she told me to stay in my room till she came for me. I did as she asked, but I was confused and emotional; and the things I heard outside my bedroom door didn’t help.  
“George, don’t do this; he’s still our son.”

“He stopped being my son a long time ago. You know, I saw it in him when he was just a boy; the way the other children acted around him, the way he thinks about things. There was something unnatural about him, and now we know for sure.”

“What do you think you’re going to do?”

“What do you think I’m doing? I’m going to call the authorities to come and fetch him; he needs to be contained, that much is obvious.”

“Put that down right now or I won’t hesitate to…”

“What? What will you do Hunith?”

“Please, just let me keep him; he’s my only baby George, and you know the doctors said that it was a miracle that I even conceived him. We always talked about having a big family…” I could hear the tears my mother was crying as she pleaded with my father. “If you take him away from me I don’t know what I’ll do, but I don’t think that I’ll survive it.”

There was a lot more they said to each other, but they began moving around the rest of the house so I couldn’t hear it all; in the end, I watched out my bedroom window as I watched my father throw his duffel bag into the back of his car. He met my eyes through the glass, my eyes were wet as I watched his fill with cold disgust as he started the car and backed out of the driveway-and ultimately my life.

After that, my mother and I became like hermits; we left our house in Sussex Square and moved to a cottage in a small village on the coast. We lived in Ealdor till I was fifteen; I would do it all again, even if it did mean that I would never see my mother again. She had come down with a very nasty strain of a flu, and even though she continued to fight it off and work and keep up with my lessons, her health had declined for more than a month. When I woke one day and she couldn’t get out of bed, and her eyes kept drifting closes, and her fever had not broken from the night before, I knew that I would do whatever I needed to in order to save her life. Until that morning I had only ever been into the village twice and both times I had been escorted by my mother and her close watchfulness; but I had no choice, so I dressed and headed out to find a doctor who could take care of my mother.

I found the first doctor, an hour later, and in a frightful state; I literally rampaged my way through the office until I found the woman wearing a white lab coat. I didn’t mean to be so harsh with her, but I was nearly out of my mind with concern for my mother; I must have dragged her half the way to our home before I realized that she was screaming for me to stop and explain myself. I did, in a whirlwind of harsh words and flailing limbs; but in the end, even though she still looked terrified, she ran alongside me the rest of the way back to our house.

I sat there, clutching my mother’s tacky hand, as the woman examined her in great detail. When she had finished, she looked at me with a somber face. “Where is your telephone?” I brought her the cordless phone. “I have to call an ambulance for your mother; she needs immediate medical attention, she’s severely dehydrated which has exacerbated her infection.” There was a pregnant pause as the doctor sighed and tapped the phone against her leg. “And I’m going to have to phone in a containment agency to come and confiscate you; I hope you understand that it’s no judgement on the person you may be, but legally I am obligated to report you to the proper authorities.”

My quizzical expression must have alarmed her because she gasped, the phone stilling in her grasp. “Your mother never told you, did she?”

“Told me what?” I asked quietly as I stroked my mother’s hand.

“I’m sure that they’ll run through it with you; it’s part of their mission statement, at least, so I’ve heard.” She walked around my mother’s bed to stand next to me, and gingerly placed her hand on my shoulder. “I hope you know Merlin, this doesn’t mean that I think you’re a bad person; you and your mother have always been so kind-albeit quiet-and I have no doubt that a boy who loves his mother this much cannot be as cruel as the others.” She smiled sadly, told me to stay with my mother, and went out of the room to make her calls.

She came back into the room a few minutes later sans the phone; I kept on holding my mother’s hand, thinking that this wasn’t really a surprise-I had seen the signs growing up, but what I didn’t know was why I was so different. And why was being different so horrible? As I sat the doctor kept a close eye on my mother’s condition, doing what she could without her medical supplies; she would give me worried sidelong glances, but did not speak to me any further. I hoped that perhaps the ambulance would arrive first so that I could see my mother off, make sure they treated her gently, and say good-bye properly.

I was once again, unfortunate. Six large men in khaki jumpsuits arrived abruptly and marched into our little cottage without even knocking. Their black leather boots made a racquet as they barged into my mother’s room; the noise and the vibrations jostled me to my feet, my heart thudding at the inevitability of saying good-bye to my mother. The doctor stood up as they entered the room, her face creased with concern. “Just relax Merlin; they won’t hurt you unless you resist.”

Then she briefly turned to the lead man to say “Please, he’s shown no signs of aggression.”

I tried to relax, I tried to breath in a regular pattern; I tried to keep in mind all the things my mother had imparted in me, I tried to make her proud. The six men circled around me, a shaking fifteen year old with a black mop of hair that hadn’t even been brushed that day, towering over me by at least a foot; I didn’t know if I should introduce myself, but none of that mattered. The lead man unclipped a pen from his pocket and pulled a clip board out of somewhere.

“Full name?” He had a gruff voice that matched his face; he seemed uninterested in making eye contact with me.

“Merlin Draken Emrys.” My voice didn’t shake, didn’t crack, and somehow seemed even a tad defiant.

“Age?” He scribbled on his clipboard.

“Fifteen.”

“When did you present?”

I looked from him to the doctor, who was standing behind him, and gave them both a quizzical look. When I didn’t respond, he finally looked up from his board with an equally confused look. “He doesn’t even know what he is; his mother never let him be educated;” the doctor pipes in, her voice sounding far away.

The lead man sighs heavily and puts his clipboard away. “Fine,” he says in a raspy tone. “And you are vouching for his nature, correct doctor?” He asks as he trades his clipboard for a spool of some sort of rope which he takes from one of his other men.

“Yes,” she chirps.

The lead man steps forward and holds up the spool; it’s a thick rubber rope the color of lemons. “As long as we don’t have any problems, you’ll only need to be restrained with this; it goes around your wrists and secures your wrists to your torso, and I’ll even leave it a little loose.” He lowers the spool. “But if you give me any problems,” he pointed to one of his men. I looked over to see him raising heavy iron manacles and chains. “I put you in those.”

He looked me straight in the eye. “Do we understand each other?” I nodded, afraid of speaking in case I said something to make matters worse. “Alright Merlin, welcome to your new life; let’s get started.”

They trussed me up like a turkey before walking me out of my home, away from my mother. There was an armored vehicle waiting outside, and as they were walking me towards its gaping doors, the ambulance pulled up with its sirens whirring. I tried to look back as I watched the EMTs jump out of the vehicle, but I didn’t want to wind up in metal cuffs; as they secured me into the back of the armored truck I said a silent pray to the heavens that my mother would recover from losing me.


	2. The disappearance of Arthur Pendragon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so I wanted to keep the momentum going so here is chapter two-It is in Arthur's perspective. we have some familiar names come up as well. Please comment and let me know what you think. I know it takes a little while to digest a work, so if it takes a couple more chapters to decide how you feel that works too

My father was an important man that much I knew from what I was told; he was on the news a lot, so when we were allowed to watch the television in the home I would get mercilessly teased and tormented by the other omegas. Even the keepers of the home made snide comments during my treatments, just trying to hurt me when I was at my lowest, most vulnerable moment. I hadn’t seen my father since I was five years old; and even though there were options for visitation or letters, my father had cut all ties to me.

Uther Pendragon could not be associated with Alpha and Omega Rights, let alone have it be known that he had had an Omega child; the fact that I was a male Omega was just salt in the already festering wound. He had suspected me right away, when I was five and had been caught kissing all of the children in my nursery school; the headmaster called him in, told him how he had found me, sitting in the center of a circle of mostly boys-though there were a few girls-as they each took turns pecking me on the lips as I giggled and swooned. I was just shy of my fifth birthday when I was taken into see a specialist; there was an array of poking and prodding, and even though I cried for my mother and father, I was forced to go through it all alone. When the results came back that I was an Omega I didn’t understand what that had to do with me; I looked at my father and asked him if we could go home now, but he wouldn’t look at me. The doctor handed him some forms, which he signed without reading, and they discussed me as if I wasn’t in the room crying my eyes out.

My father left me there that day; he left me in a hospital, and he didn’t say good-bye or answer my questions as I watched him walk out of the doctor’s office while an orderly held me restrained me so that I couldn’t run after him. From there, I had been picked up by a containment team and taken to a group home for Omega children; there were ten of us in my age bracket, I was one of four boys, the rest were girls. We were kept together in the same houses, moved to and fro depending on government rulings and funding; that was just over ten years ago.

I’m Arthur Pendragon, and even though I was the only son of a wealthy political player, I was swept under the rug and my father’s illegitimate daughter Morgana took my place amongst my family as if she were the one who was always meant to be there. The people who ran the Omega home didn’t care enough to think of us as people, so I was able to keep my name under wraps; the other Omegas simply knew me as Arthur. I stopped being Arthur Pendragon when my father abandoned me at that hospital.

They like to tell the public that they treat us well while we’re in containment; and I guess if they believe that they’re really protecting themselves from something horrible, then they’d probably believe anything the government fed them. When I was ten years old everyone in my age bracket was transferred to a condemned apartment building on the east side of London due to overcrowding; it wasn’t until one of the girls fell to her death through a rotted floor that we were moved yet again, this time to a very secluded compound in the countryside. The press had had a field day with the death, that fact that she was an Omega simply wasn’t enough to cover up the fact that she was also a ten year old girl. The public has made so much noise about it that there were reforms to the laws, some of which helped us and some which only caused us more restrictions.

It wasn’t until these changes that we were allowed to be educated; for some this was a punishment, but for those so inclined-such as myself-we found it a great change of pace from the usual monotony. Of course, our lessons were nothing like those of “human” children; our professors came to our facility for only three hours a day, they taught from behind thick panes of glass that divided us from them, and many of them treated our lessons as their own punishment. In five years of these lessons I’ve managed to educate myself to the best of my abilities, and given that these lessons were a mandatory part of the government’s proper treatment of us, it was easier to get knowledge. Along with these lessons we were moved to a more permanent location, a compound far to the south outside of a town called Camelot; the building complied with the new regulations including allowing us access to safe and clean living quarters, a library (albeit a small library), safe washrooms with both hot and cold water (even though the pressure was only so-so), and access to a place we could exercise without being seen (wouldn’t want to upset the “humans”).

For a while things seemed to be better for us, but we were just children; it wasn’t until I was fourteen that I noticed that our group had changed so much over the years. There were only seven of us in my age bracket now, and there was only one other boy; I can’t remember what happened to the other two, but I was certain that something was wrong-there was no reason for an Omega to disappear from containment facilities. It was like waking up, realizing that I wasn’t the only one suffering, the only one who was coming of age within the cruel white walls of the compound.

It was during a break between lessons one day when I approached the other boy, feeling nervous because that morning I had witnessed something horrific in the murky morning as I peeked out of my dorm room; four containment agents had gone into the girls’ dorm and dragged out a girl named Freya as she thrashed moaning and crying and whining like a wild thing. If this was the way things were going, then I wanted someone to know something about me before I was spirited away into the darkness.

“Hey,” I mumbled as I stared at my sterile white shoes. “I’m Arthur.”

The boy was far less shy than I, his chocolate brown eyes sharp with a spark of fire in them; I kept my head bowed, my sandy locks conveniently shielding my blue irises from his scrutiny. “I know,” even his curtness couldn’t totally cover up his melodic voice. “You were the one who ran off to sneak a phone to call the police when Vivian fell through the floor. You know, half of us thought you were mute.”

I nod solemnly. “There’s been a lot of moving around; I’m sorry for not being so friendly.”

“I’m Will by the way.” I looked at him, raising my head a bit, to see him through my fringe. “The other thought you were dim by the way.”

I nodded again, a smile tugging at my lips; I pushed it aside. “Look, I know I come off a little bit…”

“Prattish?” Will offered, a grin fading from his face as I looked up from my shoes again.

“Your words, not mine, but fair enough.” I took a breath, straightening up a bit. “Look, they dragged off Freya this morning and I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it. I was hoping that maybe we could be friends, that maybe if one of us disappears the other would keep his eyes and ears open for him.” I let my body deflate a little, having finally spoken my piece.

Will ran a hand through his unruly brown waves before taking ahold of my wrist in a firm grip. “You’re not a prat; I get that you were scared, we were just kids. You’re a good guy, what you did for Vivian took guts; and don’t you think I knew that you got two weeks of washroom chores as punishment for that?” I stared into those intense eyes as he continued in a rushed whisper. “You might be shy mate, but you’ll always have a friend in me. When they let us out in the yard for our evening exercise we can chat some more. Come on, get your head in the game, I know you’re lagging behind in arithmetic.”

After that, Will and I kept a quiet friendship; we kept track of who went missing and when, which agents were working when they did disappear, and we kept our ears to the walls for any tidbits of new that might tell us where they were taking us. We would talk in whispers and make notes on spare scraps of paper which we hid on the undersides of our plastic mattresses; he was a clever boy that had been through his own set of frustrations, and of the two of us I knew that he was the leader. But I also knew that Will kept his own secrets, his own plans that he wouldn’t involve me in; when I would venture a query about his secrets he would simply say “you’re already doing something risky, you don’t need to add another risk to your list”.

I wish Will had trusted me more, but I can’t do anything about that now. It’s been a week since the last time I’ve seen Will; they disappeared him sometime in the middle of the night even though we tried to take shifts sleeping. There were only five of us now that were fifteen; I was almost sixteen which made me both the oldest of the group as well as the only boy. I don’t know what happens when they make one of us disappear, but I know it’s only a matter of time till they come for me in the darkness. When I woke up a week ago and saw that the dorm was empty except for me I started finalizing the contingency plan that Will and I had been working on; we hadn’t had the time to finish the plan, but I knew that I was just a sitting duck. And if there was anything that I had learned from Will, it was that I wasn’t going to sit around waiting for them to come for me.

I was either leaving tonight or they’d have actual reason to make me disappear. Either way, this was the last time Arthur Pendragon was going to be seen for a very long time.


	3. Taking in the In-Take

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter continues with Merlin's side of the story. As always, tell me how you feel about it in the comments section. I love reading comments because you all have such good points to make.

I spent over three hours in the back of the containment team’s armored vehicle, alone, confused, and hungry. When everything came to a stop it took even more time before the back doors were swung open; the containment team from before ushered me out of the truck and through while halls until I was directed into a medical office; the lead man shut the door on the rest of his men before he turned to me.

“Hands,” he grumbled. I held out my hands as best I could. He began to untie my bindings. “Look, this is where I leave ya kid. I don’t know much about what happens after this point, I’m just the transport team;” he sighed as he finished removing the rope and began to loop it around the spool again. “But just try not to make things worse for yourself, okay kid?”

He finished with the spool and looked down at me with a shake of his head, but I could have sworn for a moment I saw sympathy in his hard brown eyes. I nod, but he’s already turning back to the door. I rub my wrists and stretch my muscles as I hear him lock the door and lead his troop back down the hallway. I stretch my hands above my head for a full body muscle spasm before I turn to look at the room I was in. 

I didn’t have enough time to truly see anything though, because the second I turned around I heard quick footsteps and the door burst open behind me. I jump back as I swiveled to see a short, stout, gray-haired man walk briskly into the office. “Hmmm,” he started, without looking at me-his eyes were trained on a medical file in his hands. “On the table Mr. Emrys, no dilly-dallying.” 

I was a little stunned, but seeing as he had on blue scrubs and a white lab coat I figured that he was probably a doctor of some sort; as he moved brusquely towards me without looking, I snapped into action so as to avoid being run down. I quickly hopped onto the medical exam table, my feet dangling just a few feet above the white tile below me. The old man grumbled, still his nose in the file, as he moved about the room; he stopped at the counter opposite the table, washed his hands in the sink, then snapped on a pair of latex gloves before he finally turned to face me. 

“I am Doctor Gaius Hamlet, you may refer to me simply as Gaius.” He stepped back, grabbing a stethoscope and blood pressure cuff from the counter where they lay. “I will be giving you a full physical and mental examination to determine where you will be placed upon your intake into the Containment System.” 

Gaius closed the distance between us as he situated the stethoscope half in his ears. I offered my arm before he could ask which must have surprised him; he took a moment to actually focus on me, my face, and my eyes. “You seem frightened, are you alright? You’re quite quiet; I’ve never met a boy as quiet as you.” It was my turn to be startled; I had thought his voice could be nothing but cold and calculated, instead it was suddenly warm and concerned.

“My mother was very ill when they came to collect me, I’m worried about her.” My voice is small, but firm.

Gaius makes another “hmm” sound as he fixes the cuff to his liking. His eyes, cool gray and yet alive with thought, focus on me once again. “May I call you Merlin?” I nod slowly. “Alright Merlin, you seem like a nice enough boy so I’ll let you in on a little secret; I’m going to be your physician while you’re here, so as long as things go smoothly we might be good friends. And if I can, I’ll keep you up to date on your mother, sound alright?”

I nodded quietly before he began to inflate the cuff and had to focus on the exam. It was a long and arduous procedure involving everything from blood draws, vaccines, and measurements to DNA swabs, probing of my genitalia, and sperm samples. When it was finished Gaius handed me a small stack of clothes, and explained that I wouldn’t be allowed to wear the ones I had arrived in-I didn’t bother asking why or where they had disappeared to. It felt ironic to be dressing in white scrubs and white shoes after all of the humiliating things that Gaius had done to me in the last hour. As I was smoothing down my shirt and tapping my shoes to situate them better my stomach let loose an audible rumble that caused Gaius to turn and stare before chuckling at me. 

“You must be hungry, poor boy.” He finished filling out the last form in his file before shutting it. “Unfortunately, you must stay here until the test results return so that you can be properly placed; that will take nearly an hour more.” He collected the vials of blood and other various samples that he had collected into his arms and tottered over to the door. He turned around before opening the door; “I’ll be right back, just need to drop these samples off at the lab, then I’ll bring you something to eat. Try to relax a bit; feel free to lay back, no one will disturb you.”

I did lay back on the exam table, feeling awkward in my new clothes; I was too on edge to even doze off, but at least I was able to finally breathe and think without someone else hovering about him as if he was a thief. My thoughts flew in and out of focus, but mostly I wondered if my mother was awake and if someone had bothered to tell her what had happened to me.

Gaius returned a short time later with a metal tray covered in a plastic dome, as there wasn’t much to discuss yet-the results were still being processed-he simply left me to eat in peace. The food was bland and only vaguely hinted at flavors here and there; there was some sort of meat covered in gravy, a perfectly formed mound of mashed potatoes, and a copious amount of steamed vegetables that I only managed to eat half of before getting bored with chewing the tasteless stuff. When I was finished I took my tray over to the plastic trash bin to dump the remains into, then noticing the sink I decided to rinse off the tray and place it on the counter for whoever had to clean it up later. 

Gaius entered again sometime after that with the file in his hands, looking quite a bit thick this time around. He didn’t bother looking inside it this time, probably having already read all the results beforehand; instead he put it down on the counter and leaned against the counter opposite of where I was sitting on the table. He looked me dead in the eye before taking a deep breath; “The tests all confirm the suspicion that you are indeed an Alpha, a very virile one at that. There’s a note in your collection form that says you’ve never been educated about the Alpha and Omega Situation, is that true Merlin?”

I nod quickly before adding “My mother taught me herself for the most part and she’s never mentioned it.”

Gaius sighed heavily before continuing. “Did she teach you about a growing boy’s body and how it transitions into an adult man?” I nod again but stay silent. “Well, you see, in the eyes of the government and most others you’re not considered human Merlin; they don’t exactly know why you’re different or what to call people who are like you, but they’re scared and that makes them dangerous. You won’t mature the way your mother taught you a boy would mature, it may have already started. The problem is that there’s always a few in a bunch that make a bad example, whether by choice or by accident, and now people are afraid of those like you.” Gaius shuffles a bit uncomfortably and straightens, turning his back to me. I see his head turn toward the sink a bit, noticing the tray I’ve rinsed. He turns back, his eyes firmly planted on me. “Your life is no longer your own Merlin, but no matter what happens while you’re here at this compound I’ll make sure you’re as healthy and well taken care of as possible. Unfortunately, this is where I must escort you up to the intake officers, but I will see you again soon.”

I nodded solemnly as I slid off the exam table. Gaius gave me a sad smile before he ushered me out of the door and back down another white hallways. I felt as if I was truly walking into the unknown; but Gaius had promised to keep me healthy, and even gave me hope of hearing news of my mother. I just needed to keep calm, the more problems I caused the harder this was likely to be. 

Gaius brought me to the end of a winding white hall where steel double doors stood with a blinking security panel protruding from the wall next to them; he stopped me with a hand on my shoulder, and then approached the panel alone. After a second there was a harsh buzzing and the doors mechanically swung inward; Gaius waved me through, and I stopped on the other side to see him sadly nod before inputting another command forcing the doors to close.


	4. Doors and Windows, but no Chances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or does this chapter feel like filler? Do you feel like the story made progress or do you feel like you're still waiting for the next piece of the story? I know sometimes I don't always have the best perspective because I'm the one writing it, so please tell me.   
> And this is from Arthur's perspective

I had already done all the easy stuff; I had nicked one of the plastic bags that they used to line the trash cans, I had managed to pilfer the spare clothes from Will’s drawers before they had come in to sanitize his bunk area, and for the past week I had stashed as much nonperishable food from the meal hall and snuck it into the dorm. Now I just had to figure out an actual way out; it was the only thing that Will and I hadn’t come close to figuring out. As much as I would have liked to say the compound was set up as most prisons were, it seemed that it was far more complex; the more Will and I had explored, the more we began to think that the compound was split up into multiple segments. The quarters that we Omegas occupied stretched and branched off of one main hallway, from there we could find the library, the dorms, the classroom, the main office, the meal hall; and the more we had explored our boundaries the more we realized how small our quarters really were. 

There was no more time though, so I would just have to take the risk. I went through my day as calmly as I could, but I couldn’t help but feel as if my skin was crawling with nervous energy; after evening meal and exercise in the courtyard, I went to bed quietly. But I didn’t sleep, I couldn’t even if I wanted to; I lay awake and listened to the clock fixed to the wall high above my head. When I was certain that it was close to midnight, I gingerly slide out of bed and onto the tile floor; I grabbed my plastic bag full of supplies, shoved my shoes into it, then slide on a pair of socks before standing up. 

I made it all the way to the main door, a pair of huge double doors made entirely of steel; the only time we ever went in or out these doors were for medical exams, which we were escorted to by staff, when we went outside for exercise there was another hallway with a smaller yet similar door. These doors were connected to the electronic control panel hidden behind the counter of the main desk; I snuck around the counter to see the blinking button screen. I was beginning to panic, sweat prickling the nape of my neck and heart beating raggedly, when I noticed a small red button at the bottom of the key pad. It was perfect, a panic button; and I was panicking, right? 

I held my breath as I pressed my finger to the red dot; the next thing I know the entire pad was flashing red and a buzzing was filling my ears as the doors made a loud clicking sound. It was a reset button, and now the doors must be demagnetized; this was my one shot, and I wasn’t going to waste it. I ran over to the doors, it took all of my strength to pry one of them open enough for me to squirm through; the white hall on the other side was a mirror image of the one that I had just come from. 

I made it down the hall and into a dark room before I heard footsteps stomping down the hall; I couldn’t see anything, but I tucked myself into a corner to calm down while avoiding the staff that was no doubt searching for whatever set off the alarm. I stayed there for a long time, so long I lost track of the footsteps coming and going; my heart would not stop hammering and my hands were shaking as they clutched at my plastic bag. 

But I had to keep moving, they hadn’t caught me yet so there was still a chance I could make it out. I took off again, taking random turns down unknown hallways until I came to another set of steel double doors; I didn’t like the idea of entering another secure section of the compound, so I picked a door at random and slunk inside. 

Once again, I my vision was plunged into complete darkness, that is, until I groped along the wall to find the tiny light switch. In a foggy yellow light I was able to tell that I was in one of the medical exam rooms; we were given medical exams constantly to monitor our Omega-ness, I recognized the exam table. However this exam room had one thing that I hadn’t seen in my other trips to the physicians; there was a window situated into the far wall. 

I was about to rush over to it, look for a way to get it open, hopeful that I might actually get out of this place; but I was struck by a crippling pain running through my lower abdomen. I dropped to my hands and knees gasping for breath as my bag of supplies fell forgotten to the floor. I huffed, hoping it would pass, but my stomach rippled with waves of muscle spasms without a sign of stopping. Sweat was pouring down my back and the feel of the white tiles on my skin suddenly felt like heaven. What was happening to me?

I needed to get out of here and fast. I struggled to my feet with the help of the medical table, abandoning my provisions; if I could get out of here, then I didn’t care if I had food or shoes. I managed to get to the window only to find that there was no way to open it; it was simply a porthole to view the empty countryside from, with the added security of a wire grid embedded inside the glass. Damn, I would have to break it; but, I had to try, the pain in my gut was quickly becoming a constant stabbing sensation. I had to act before all my strength was diverted into fighting off the pain. 

I grabbed the closest thing I could, which was an abandoned swivel stool, and flung it blindly at the window. As the remnants of the window rained down onto the white tile I promptly melted onto the shard covered floor. An alarm, far worse than before, blared all around me as I shuddered and hyperventilated. No matter how many times I tried to command my body to move, it would not obey me; instead it instinctually curled in on itself. 

It took them less than a second to find me, semiconscious and whimpering on the floor. I felt several pairs of hands manhandle me onto my feet, but I nearly toppled over, so I swept off my feet. The last thing I remember being aware of was the restraints of a gurney being fastened around my wrists and the face of the gray old physician Gaius swimming before my eyes. 

Wherever they were taking me, I hoped that Will might be there; I may have failed in my attempt to escape, but maybe I could find him again.


	5. The death of Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so we have another chapter in Merlin's perspective, and I think it might just be what you've all been waiting for...   
> Read and then tell me what you think

A man who could intimidate even the Hulk materialized behind me once the steel doors had closed. “Merlin Emrys, I presume?” I turned to look up at his towering, bulky form and nodded silently. 

“Due to the results of your medical examination, the director has determined that you pose a risk to the other Alpha and Omega that are house throughout the compound so you will be housed in a more secure room.” Though he was built for terror, the monster of a man was dressed in soft yellow scrubs and his voice was far from threatening. “Please come with me,” and with that he ushered me to the left, down another ice cold white hallway. 

I was lead through a few halls, down a flight of stairs, and into a dimly lit hall that ended in a dead end at another steel double door; there were similar steel doors lining the hall reminding me of a sanitarium. My escort stopped in front of one of these doors; I watched him as he input some numbers into a key pad that replaced a door knob on the exterior of the door. When the door swung open my escort turned back to me; “there’s a spare set of cloths in the drawers, toiletries are in the bathroom, and laundry gets done twice a week. Your meals will be brought to you and you’ll be escorted out to the courtyard for exercise twice a day. Any questions?” 

I opened my mouth, but before I had the chance to ask anything a whirring alarm began to sound and a muffled voice echoed from some sort of intercom system; my escort suddenly became alert and agitated. “There’s an emergency, I’ll send someone later to check on you; you can ask them any questions you might have then.” And with a rough nod and a firm hand on my shoulder, I walked into the dark room. 

It only grew darker when the steel door slammed shut behind me, but luckily there was a tiny window set high up on the far wall that let in some of the silver moonlight from outside. I used that to help me find the light switch, which made the harsh florescent lights stutter into life above me. The room was small, but the thing that made it uncomfortable was the sterility of the place; the bed frame, the tiny desk and chair, and even the set of drawers were made of shiny steel, and what wasn’t metal was white. The alarm was still blaring, the steel door muting it enough to spare my head the pain or ringing in my ears.

I sat down awkwardly on the tightly made bed; I could feel that the mattress was some kind of plastic, and when I moved around to get comfortable I heard it squeak. The world seemed so far away as I sat and strained to hear what might be going on just beyond that steel door that separated me from the rest of the white halls and steel doors. It wasn’t much longer that the alarm was roaring before it stopped and I pulled my legs onto the bed and crossed them; someone was bound to come and speak to me now, so I might as well get my questions in my mind before then. 

What did I want to know…I thought about it, thinking about what my life had been like before this and what I would want to keep from that life. I wanted to continue my lesson; my mother had always told me that I could do something wonderful with my life. Would I get to go to school here? I hadn’t had any friends in Ealdor, but I had spent my time with our dog Kilgharrah; besides my mother, that dog had been the only loving thing in my life. Was there any chance that they’d let me have a dog? Or maybe some other sort of pet? Or maybe, I might be able to work while I was here; my mother had always encouraged me to find something to keep myself busy, and I had found a sort of calm joy in making dinner or fixing things around the house and even in gardening. Could I do that in this…

My thoughts were cut off abruptly. There were pounding steps somewhere in the hallways; I couldn’t count the number of people running, but it sounded like a stampede of horses. There were voices too, some shouting and others urgent commands that I couldn’t make out. And there was something else underneath that; and as I strained my ears, I thought maybe that it was the whistle of squeaky wheels. Whatever was going on it was moving closer toward my room until they were directly outside my door and I heard someone snap “Quickly, get that door open; we need to get him on an IV of fluids.”

But I had lost my focus by then because there was something else coming down the hall with the stampede; and now it was outside my door, driving me crazy. I didn’t even realize that I had gotten off the bed and come all the way up to my door to press my ear to it; but it wasn’t what I was hearing that was driving crazy. I could smell the most wonderful and exotic perfume wafting from under the door; it was a mixture of smells that I knew, like vanilla, lavender, cinnamon, wheat, but there was something so unknown about it. And was that fear? Could I smell fear? 

They must have opened the steel door at the end of the hall because the scent began to move away, and when the door closed it faded into an echo of what it had been. I sank to the floor, my back pressed against my own steel door, dazed and empty inside; I wanted to get to the source of that smell, but most of all I wanted to ease the fear and panic out of it. 

I sat there, breathing rapidly, hoping to catch that scintillating scent again; and then I did. It was weaker than it was before, like there was more air separating me from its source. I stood up slowly, my knees feeling weak with the warmth that was filling me up from this perfume. Like some sort of basset hound I sniffed the air, following my nose until I came to the metal desk and chair. I sniffed again, my eyes closing for a moment; when I opened them, I looked for a source that might be producing that marvelous scent. An air vent, set into the wall close to the ceiling, and slightly smaller than a fireplace; and before I could actually think through my decision, I was stepping from the chair to the top of the desk. The painted metal grate was bolted into the wall, but I didn’t think; I gripped two of the bars in my hand and in a pulse of intense emotion, I yanked it from the wall. I was aware enough to not let it drop, the clanking of metal on metal would do me no favors here; so I placed it gently at my feet before slithering my arms into the narrow space. 

I continued to follow my nose as I pulled myself through the metal tunnel using my elbows; thankfully I soon came upon a similar grate. I peered through, my nose telling me that I was growing closer to the source of my madness; the room was similar to mine is all respects except for the medical bed that was replacing the regular bed. And there was a boy lying there, mumbling incoherently, and tied down to the gurney, with an IV dripping into his arm. 

My body reacted before I had even put two and two together: this boy was the source of that divine scent. With the palm of my hand I knocked the grate out of my way as if it were simply tissue paper; in the back of my mind I knew that this was not normal, that I had never before been able to do such things; but that didn’t matter right now. What mattered was this boy. This boy with sweat dampened gold locks that were stuck at odd angles. This boy, whose lips were chapped, parted, and his breath was ragged as he murmured something that sounded a lot like “Don’t take me…Didn’t do it”. This boy who seemed a bit round, and yet, strength radiated off of him; but so did fear. 

I slowly lowered myself to the floor; his eyes were closed, but I did not want to risk startling him. I approached the side of his bed, my breath shallow and slow; I think my worst fear in this moment was for him to open his eyes and scream. When I was only separated from him the safety rail of the gurney, I chanced a small act; I hoped that if he was aware, that maybe it would comfort him, even if only in a small way. So, I moved my hand ever so slowly and gently brushed the sweat drenched hair out of his eyes; his mumbling stopped, and I felt his neck move just a fraction as if he knew which way to turn to move closer to me. 

I breathed in a harsh gasp, relieved in just the fact that he seemed quieted. I was going to remove my hand, possibly hide in the adjoining bathroom or return to my own room, but I caught the softest hum of contentment escape him. I left my hand so that it gently rested on his forehead. This boy, whomever he was, might just be the death of me; all I wanted was to stay here forever, with my hand on his brow, and those soft sounds coming from somewhere deep inside his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bum Bum BUUM!!!   
> Let me know how you feel about the big meet!!


	6. A Chance to be Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, Arthur's take on their first meeting-I hope I did it justice. and if I'm correct, this is kind of a short chapter so I hope it's enough to tide you over for at least a day.

I was on fire and no one cared; if I had any energy or control over my muscles I would have started to claw at my skin, unless it was already melting off my body. I couldn’t even control my eyelids; they would close, sometimes for long periods, and other times they would flutter in spasms. I was a thrashing, muttering, melting mess; I was aware of being on my back, of being restrained, and of staff surrounding me and speaking-not that I could make sense of any of it. 

I think we were moving, that’s right, I remembered; they had caught me mid-escape, and now I would be locked away somewhere or they would disappear me somehow. Not a single one of them cared that my insides were writhing, there was something trying to claw its way out of my stomach, and I was burning to death in my own skin. 

I was aware of the movement stopping finally and then a prick on my arm that made me whimper and recoil. “Deep breaths Arthur, it’ll be okay.” Was that Gaius? Did he care? Was he going to take the fire away? 

Apparently not, because after the painful prick there was nothing and then the sound of a door closing; this was it, they were locking me away. And no one would miss me; my father had a family that I wasn’t a part of. 

Darkness closed in on my mind, as if my body simply couldn’t handle the amount of discomfort that it was in; I floated between conscious and unconscious, trembling and frightened and alone. 

And then…I wasn’t. Alone, I mean; there was a cooling breeze and then a gentle touch on my forehead. So soothing, so cooling, so calming; my body settled a bit, I managed a breath, and my forehead became the point of radiation of blissful comfort. I leaned into whatever it was, not wanting it to vanish and for the pain to come back full force. 

It stayed, whatever it was, long enough for me to get enough oxygen to my brain and my muscles; I began to regain consciousness slowly, very slowly. 

As my eyes opened I was met by a pair of beautiful ocean blue eyes that were nearly hidden by a fringe of ink black locks; as my vision cleared, I drank in the vision before me. Those deep blue eyes were so full of concern, and yet I could see him tense as I focused on him. 

“Please,” I breathed raggedly. “Don’t go.”

His pupils widened, but he relaxed. “What’s your name?” He came closer to my face, whispering sweetly as if he were afraid I might break any moment. 

I shivered as he slid his hand from my forehead to my cheek. “Arthur.” One word, and yet whispered just as softly but for an entirely different reason. He was caressing my cheek as if he were already in love with me; and to be honest, I may have been feeling something similar building inside me. 

“I’m Merlin.” I felt his thumb glide over my cheek bone as he crouched near my head. 

I whimpered, my eyes falling closed at his sincerity. “Are you going to help me?” I opened my eyes, overwhelmed by the emotion that was written so openly on his face. 

His hand moved down my face to rest lightly on my neck; I hummed in contentment. He leaned in so his lips were just able to tickly my ear lobe. “I don’t think I’ll ever leave you; and there’s no way in hell I’m going to leave you here, like this. We leave together, or not at all.” His voice sent waves of shivers all over me. 

Merlin, I repeated his name in my head as we stayed like that; beautiful, kind, sweet, and a complete stranger. “I’m glad you found me,” I sighed as I leaned into his hand and closed my eyes. 

“Sleep Arthur,” he whispered. “We’ll find a way out together, but now you need to sleep.”

“Don’t let them catch you here,” I said, suddenly frantic at the thought of losing him so soon. “You must go before they find you in here.”

He nodded gently before shushing me sweetly. “As soon as you’re asleep I’ll go. I’m on the other side of this wall,” he tilted his chin. “So I’ll come and visit you when no one will notice. But please sleep.”

I nodded; the panic dissipating. Merlin must have a plan; I closed my eyes, finally feeling exhausted. Together, I thought. Maybe Merlin was the one that wouldn’t disappear. Because he wanted to do it together, and he didn’t even know me. And I wanted to do it together, because I could feel the trust that I already had put in him. Together, I thought. Maybe I wanted to be together with Merlin; and maybe that was a relief as well as terrifying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little mushy, but I love a little bit of lovey dovey Merlin/Arthur moments.


	7. Lay Down My Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there's a lot in this chapter and yet it's not very long-at least i don't think so. Anyway, I tried to balance some fluff with some angst.

I was glad that I was tall; it made it easy for me to sit on the floor by the head of Arthur’s bed and still keep my hand on his neck. I stroked up and down in a slow rhythm as Arthur’s body relaxed, soon his eyes closed, and I knew that soon enough he would be asleep. I stared, suddenly aware that I knew nothing about this boy, and yet, here I was risking my own well-being just so that he would be able to sleep. 

Arthur, my mind rolled his name around to feel the weight of it; he was gentle, strong, courageous, but altogether lonely and fragile. And all I wanted to do was stay here, because if I stayed here then he would be happy and he would know that someone was here to care for him. I nearly laughed at how suddenly I cared about him; and though I didn’t know why, in my head, his name was always paired with the word “mine”. 

Soon enough I could see Arthur’s eyes moving beneath his lids, and though I didn’t want to leave I would never break my promise to him; I gingerly withdrew my hand from his neck, almost feeling a static shock as I felt my skin separate from his. When I heard nothing but a content sigh from Arthur I felt safe in leaving; we had both agreed that I needed to be back in my room before anyone caught me in his room or found my room empty, and if I wanted to keep Arthur close I had to go now. So, I left the sleeping Arthur and crawled back through the air vent making sure to replace the grates in both his room as well as mine. 

When I was back in my clean white room I breathed a sigh of relief; obviously no one had come to check on me in my absence, otherwise there would have been another alarm raise. But I was far too overwhelmed by my adrenaline; there was no way I would be able to sleep, I had to make sure Arthur was able to sleep through the night. I planned on sitting at the desk, literally staring through the wall trying to imagine Arthur; after ten minutes I found the metal chair uncomfortable so I switched to sitting on the bed. I swear, I felt fine one second and the next I was asleep; it was like helping Arthur get to sleep actually helped me get to sleep. 

I was startled awake some time later by the sound of my heavy steel door being opened. I was pleasantly surprised to see Gaius walking in with a tray of food in his hands; I thought they would be sending another guard to deal with me. I yawn and pushed myself up into a seated position on my little bed. 

“What time is it?” I asked, rubbing my eyes a bit. 

As the door closed behind him, Gaius placed the metal food tray on my desk. “You’re quite at home already, aren’t you?” He gave me a quizzical look with a raised eyebrow. “Many find it hard to adjust to the accommodations here, but here you are sound asleep.”

It takes me a moment to remember that I was still confined like some sort of criminal. “Uh,” I stammer. “Well, you see… There was some sort of alarm when they brought me down here… Must be the stress of the day, I’m all worn out.”

Gaius watches me closely, only responding with a quite hum before he speaks again. “I brought you some dinner even though it’s very late; nearly one in the morning. You should eat and then go back to sleep; but, they said that they left you quite abruptly, so if you have any questions now might be a good time to ask them.”

Suddenly all the questions I had had before finding Arthur weren’t so important. I try to be nonchalant about it, but I know I’m not very good at lying. “Um, what was going on earlier? I could have sworn I heard someone moaning or something down the hall; are they alright?” I glanced down at my hands to avoid the judging eyes of the physician. 

“One of the Omegas that are housed here went into their first heat,” Gaius’s words were calm, and I chanced a glance up at him. “The alarm was set off because he was trying to escape. Poor thing’s brain was probably so heat sick he was delirious.” 

“Oh,” I mumble, my voice hollow. “It sounded like he was suffering.” 

I shake my head, knowing that this subject was a little too dangerous; I had told Arthur that I would be safe, and I had to keep my word. “So, you’re a doctor, right?” My voice is a bit brighter, if curious. 

Gaius gives me another look, but simply says “Yes, of course.” 

“Could you please explain to me…” I hesitate, feeling slightly stupid. “What are Alphas and Omegas, because I always thought I was human but the containment agents and everyone else has treated me as if I’m some sort of criminal or monster.” It feels rushed and by the time that I’ve finished speaking I need to take a deep breath of air. 

Gaius bows his head for a moment, but eventually he takes a seat in the metal chair, turning it so that he can face me. “You are human, at least, according to science; the world doesn’t like to think of Alphas and Omegas as the same as humans, but that’s because they’re different.” Gaius sighs heavily before continuing. “The only difference between you and I, Merlin, is a mutated gene or two; but here’s the difference…

“In Alphas, such as yourself, there’s an enhanced sexual drive that includes a heightened awareness of pheromones, increased sexual appetite, as well as increased virility. In Omegas, however, there are even more differences; they don’t have menstrual cycles like women do, they go through what we call heats. An Omega in heat will release copious amounts of a pheromone that only Alphas are adapt to smelling; they’ll be in heat for three to five days, during which if they were to mate with an Alpha they would most definitely become pregnant. And their pregnancies are unusual because they often have long pregnancies due to the fact that they often carry multiple children. Many people have begun to liken Alphas and Omegas to wolfs, using derogatory terms like bitch for Omegas and humping, litters, dogs; the list goes on and on, I’m afraid.”

Gaius takes a breath and I can see that something important is coming. “Merlin, the reason why many people are frightened by Alphas and Omegas is became there is no set gender roles; Alphas can be either men or women, and the same goes with Omegas. I think people find it disturbing that a man could carry a child.” 

“So that’s why the government decided to “contain” us, so that men couldn’t become pregnant?” My voice is tight and filled with bite. 

Gaius shakes his head, his gray hair swishing about his face for a moment. “No, Merlin that is not why the government implemented containment, but it might be why the world has continued to exacerbate the laws surrounding it. No, you see, many years ago, before the containment policies; Alphas would be drawn to average citizens. They would court and fall in love, but when they tried to be intimate the non-Alpha of the pair would always wind up in a deadly situation; some were simply killed by the sheer force by which an Alpha can copulate, others died due to pregnancy complications because their bodies could not adapt to the number of children or length of gestation. Omegas had it even worse, those who enjoyed their intense sexual prowess were turning to prostitution; there were several cases in which the poor things were taken advantage of by people looking to keep them as sex slaves.” 

My mouth was hanging open in shock, a hand flying up to cover my face in disbelief. “How awful,” I groan. 

I felt a hand on my knee and looked up at Gaius who was patting me sympathetically. “They think that the containment policies protect both sides Merlin, but I feel that this only drives a wedge further to the heart of the problem.” I nod silently. 

“You look thoroughly exhausted,” Gaius said as he stood up. “Best eat and then rest, we can talk more some other time.” I nodded again before I watched him go. 

I didn’t have much of a stomach, but I swallowed some food before retreating to my bed again. I couldn’t stand the thought of Arthur being so delirious that he might stand on a street corner and accept any offer to quench his desire, but I hated the image of him strapped to that gurney as well. What was that saying, something about roads to hell being paved with good intentions; this was a problem that couldn’t just be kept in the shadows, I was a person and so was Arthur and we deserved to be able to live our lives however we wanted. But people had died, innocent people, so the government had enough cause to “contain” us. 

Thankfully, when I had finally settled back onto my bed, it was as if I was settling back down beside Arthur; calm, sweet, and hopeful. I closed my eyes and brought back the images of him, of his soft lips and relaxed brow. Yes, Arthur would most definitely be the one who I would give my life to without a second’s hesitation; he was just beyond comprehension, and I couldn’t wait to see him well again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of you were looking for some history on the whole Alpha/Omega vs. the world... do you feel like you got a little bit of that answered (there's more to it by the way, Gaius just doesn't have all the answers)


	8. Omega we were wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so this is a short chapter. I was thinking of stretching it out a bit, but it's kind of important that we get just the right amount of information. Arthur is literally tied down so he really can't do very much. It's going to fall on Merlin to save Arthur. Hence, Arthur's chapter is a little short.

I woke up covered in icy sweat, my breathing erratic, and a perpetual flush covering my body. I lay there panting while I took in my surroundings. I was restrained on a medical bed, an IV was situated in the crook of my right arm, and the only sign that I hadn’t dreamed up Merlin were the faint chipped paint around the air grate. 

I heard the door being unlocked from the outside and the panic resurfaced; now that I was caught I wondered what would happen to me. I didn’t want to see who it was that was coming to take me away from Merlin so I just lay there, staring at the ceiling. It wasn’t until the person who had entered the room took a seat on the swivel stool and rolled up next to the head of my bed that I bothered to pay them any attention. I realized it was Gaius and breathed a small sigh of relief; he had always been gentle and kind during my medical exams, I saw no threat in his demeanor, and began to relax. 

“How are you feeling Arthur?” His voice was cautious and his eyebrows were knit together. “I’m glad you were able to sleep some, I could have sworn you’d have been up all night screaming like the others.”

I’m still panting when I echo “Others? What others?”

That was when Gaius took a deep breath; it was a tell of sorts for him, he hated breaking news to us so he always needed to calm his nerves before he had to tell one of us something. “You’ve come of age Arthur, and for an Omega that means going into heat.”

I can feel my eyes go wide. “What does this mean? Is this why the Omegas in my ward have been disappearing?” 

Gaius stayed quiet for a moment. “Once an Omega comes of age the rules for their containment change; we’ll need to monitor you closely for the next few days to see how where you fall on the scale and then you’ll be moved to a different facility.” 

As if moving on to a better topic Gaius cleared his throat and sputtered a bit before speaking again. “I am here to check on you, place some electrodes, and go over the protocol with you; I’ll be the one handling your care and monitoring so we’ll be seeing a lot of each other the next few days.” The poor old man, he probably didn’t want to do this anymore than I did, but a job was a job and I knew that doctors specializing in Alphas and Omegas made substantially more because they were hired by the government. 

And so it began. Gaius snapped on a pair of latex gloves before running through a preliminary exam; he palpated my chest, he checked my genitals and did a swab, and he took my vitals. Once that was done he sat and asked me questions about my “symptoms” and wrote then down on a clip board. He let me know that my reproductive drive would likely diminish my appetite, so nutrients would be added to my IV but I probably wouldn’t feel much like eating or drinking. To conclude a very awkward exam Gaius used a tube of goo to attach half a dozen circular metal discs to my head, chest, stomach, pelvis, scrotum, and my thighs. 

“I’m afraid that as your heat progresses Arthur that you might not be quite yourself and it might become very painful, but just try to remember that I am here to help you.” I nodded, my breath coming in groans now. “Alright, I’ll let you be for a while, maybe try to sleep a bit.”

I didn’t watch him go, instead I lay back and closed my eyes trying to remember Merlin’s touch and the relief it brought. I didn’t know when he was planning on sneaking back into my room, but I wanted it to be now. I was sure that if I could just hold his hand that the heat would go away; Gaius would be wrong, I wouldn’t be some breeding machine and I wouldn’t be some lab rat. With Merlin, I could be anything. But not if this heat didn’t go down, and fast; I was boiling from the inside. 

We had learned about Omegas in heat in our lessons, mostly in health aspects but also a bit in history. An Omega in heat was like an animal, no morals, no thoughts beyond physical needs, and a danger to themselves and others. I knew being an Omega might lead down this road; Will and I had discussed it once or twice, and we both agreed that being male the heats would be different for us. We were naïve, in denial, and desperate to escape, so we didn’t dwell on it because we couldn’t control it. But laying here, with my muscles convulsing and the sweat dripping into my eyes, I think we may have been wrong.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> might take a little longer on the next chapter just cause I think a lot is going to happen. Just a little heads up. Keep commenting though so I don't slack off and leave you hanging-not that i plan to.


	9. Leave you with a Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so here's the next chapter. It's Merlin's perspective and most likely the next chapter will also be in Merlin's perspective even though our pattern has been Merlin, then Arthur... But like I said, Arthur's a little tied up at the moment so he's not got a lot going on.

I waited as long as I could, which may have been sometime around noon; after a guard had delivered my lunch meal, told me that he would be back sometime later to “take me for a walk” which I assumed was a derogatory way of letting me know I had free time until my exercise period, and left with a snort I scaled my desk once more. As soon as I could make sure that Arthur was alone, I shimmied out of the duct to land on the tile of his room. 

He whimpered softly, desperately, as I came closer; I shushed him quietly and placed my palm on his forehead again, careful to avoid the new intrusion of electrodes. “You’re burning up,” I murmur. “Haven’t they given you anything for the infection yet?” I run my hands through his sweaty blonde hair, wondering what it would be like to burry my nose in it and never resurface. 

Arthur pants a bit before his breathing starts to calm and he can speak. “It’s…Not…An Infection.” He can barely keep his eyes from rolling back in his head so I decide on a bold move and I take my other hand and I grasp his hand even though it’s bound to the bed rail. “Heat” he hisses as if he’s ashamed that he has to tell me. 

I lean closer to his ear; I know how dangerous it is for me to even be in here, but I can’t stand to see Arthur like this. “Tell me what to do,” I breathe into his ear. 

I sit back to see Arthur’s face, to see the flash in his eyes; he wants me to help, but he doesn’t want to lose himself to the heat. I watch his internal struggle for too long; my heart clenches and I make my choice. I keep my hands firmly pressed where they are, one on his cheek and the other on his hand, and I lean over him. I expect saltiness, chapped skin, even trembling from the fever; but as I press my lips to Arthur’s I feel him open beneath me. My eyes close as my lips meet his; there’s a jolt from underneath me, and I think I must have hit a nerve. But Arthur responds, to every swipe of my tongue to every gently suck and in return I swallow all of his sounds and take away some of his need. I stroke his cheek, my hand sliding down his neck and then up under his chin. I lose myself in the way Arthur’s lips move with mine, the way he breaths in while I breath out, and the sweet way his tongue darts out to shyly to lick at my top lip. 

I pull back when I I’m so lightheaded that I feel as if I might fall on top of Arthur; I’m panting heavily and Arthur’s eyes are closed while his lips are frozen in our last embrace. When he comes out of his delirium I can feel that his temperature is down a bit and his breathing is evening out, even if I can still feel his heart thrumming under my hand. “Better?” I breathe as I sit back a bit. 

Arthur’s staring at the ceiling. “A little, yeah.” He murmurs. He turns his face towards me, but keeps his eyes down, his lashes flutter against his cheeks. “I didn’t ask you to…”

“You didn’t have to.” I finish for him before he has to dive too deep into his embarrassment. 

His eyes lift, those misty blue-grey eyes watery with unkempt emotions; it’s as if I can feel no one has ever taken care of him, and I want so badly to do that for him. He’s had to be strong, now he’s going through his first heat; but, I know that the most important thing now is to find a way to get us both out of here. If I could get Arthur out of here then maybe we could find somewhere safe; somewhere that no one would care that we were Alpha and Omega. 

My eyes linger on his face, taking him all in, before I speak. “We need to get you out of here; you need to be somewhere safe, where you don’t have to go through this alone.” 

I see his brow scrunch up before he goes back to staring at the ceiling. “I can’t leave now;” he sighs. “I’m a risk to myself and others, if I’m not locked up like this something bad might happen.” 

It’s my turn; I feel my brow pinch. “What do you mean? You’re literally tied down. And do you even know what they’re going to do after your heat is over? Talk about risk to yourself; who know where they might put you. Arthur, I can’t stand the idea of them splitting us up. Don’t you see that?”

“Don’t you see?” His icy voice snaps at me before his equally ice cold eyes turn on me. “You’re only attracted to me because I’m in heat. We’re like magnets, Merlin; we’re   
genetically compatible so we’re drawn to each other. You don’t even know me; and I don’t know you. Yes, your touch…” he stammers, the ice thawing a bit as his eyes well again. “Your kisses, they make me feel better.” And then he strikes at my heart. “But it could be any Alpha and I would react the same way.”

I feel my hand pull back, about to leave his skin, when I stop it; it hovers, the pads of my fingers just touching him, and I feel the electric shock run through me. “I don’t believe that.” I breathe, and settle my hand back on him. I run it down his neck and over his sternum until it rests over his heart. I feel a shiver run over him and his breath catches, his eyes roll back and his lids flutter shut. “I know you can’t feel mine like this, but my heart beats the same as yours.”

We stay like that for a few minutes because even though Arthur’s words hurt me, I know that my hand on his chest is soothing the ache of his heat. “We need a plan,” because I’m not going to let him stay here like this. “Got any ideas? You’ve probably been here longer than me.”

Arthur breaths through his nose as he turns his eyes back to me. “Fine, if you’re going to be stubborn about it I may as well help you; I don’t want you getting hurt doing something stupid.” 

We spent the next fifteen minutes discussing Arthur’s failed escape plan in hushed whispers while I kept my hand moving about Arthur’s upper torso and neck. I mostly listened for the first part, trying to think of ways to improve upon the idea. When Arthur’s finished explaining how he blackout before he could even see if the window was open enough to get out of, I starts to add his ideas into the conversation. But soon enough Arthur’s eye lids are drooping and his breaths are coming in long slow rhythms and I know that the heat has taken its toll on him; he really should rest, and I should go before the guard returns to take me outside for my exercise. 

“You need to sleep Arthur,” I say gently when his eyes haven’t opened for a minute. 

He forces them open just to shoot me a glare. “I’m fine. We were discussing interior options; I was telling you how there was wire going through the window and you were talking nonsense about finding on that didn’t have wires.” He’s adorably pouty when he’s tired I decide before I run my thumb over his collarbone. 

“Yes, and I was just saying how you need to sleep because you’re obviously tired.” He narrows his glare at me some more. “You can barely keep your eyes open and I need to go back to my room anyway. I’ll come back tonight and we’ll both have some new ideas then I bet.” 

Arthur’s eyes lower and I hear the faintest whine come from his throat. “I don’t like it when you leave,” he grumbles bashfully. “And I’m afraid I hurt your feelings earlier and you won’t come back for me. I’ll be all alone again.”

In one swift movement I’m leaning over Arthur again, drawing in his surprised gasp as if its air, and pressing our lips together gently. When I feel him hum against my lips, I can’t help but smile as I kiss him a bit more. When I pull away it’s to look into his clouded eyes. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to leave you alone again Arthur; you may think it’s just the heat, but I can’t help but feel like I’m supposed to take care of you somehow.” I give him another light peck on the lips before I use all my will power to draw away from him. 

When I’m standing underneath the air vent grate I look back at Arthur laying there, his eyes soft and his chest broad as he watches me silently. “I’ll be back later, I promise.” And then I turn around and climb back through the vent duct.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to keep the angst light but they're only 15 and Arthur's in heat-of course his brain is basically melting so he's not to blame for what he's feeling or saying about how he feels.


	10. Something More

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're getting tantalizingly close to the big escape... But Merlin needed to get a big fat dose of reality.

I didn’t have much time to sulk once I got back into my room; Arthur’s words had hurt, but I was determined to find a way out of this place. I may not have cared very much when it was just me stuck in here, but suddenly it was him and I; and I didn’t want him stuck here, going through his heats with tubes and restraints to deal with. I was finishing up my lunch when I heard someone stop in front of my door. 

The guard who opened the door seemed exceedingly bored with his duty as he gruffly announced that it was time for me to get some exercising; he held the door open for me as I stepped out into the hallway, but stayed stony-faced as I followed him back along the white hallway; it’s the first time that I notice that Arthur’s room must be beyond the steel door that divides the hallway that our rooms share. Ultimately, the guard leads me to a large freight elevator; he leads me in by the elbow before closing the doors and cranking a lever on the side. I craned my neck a bit and was able to see that the lever had several markings and the crank had a large circle cut out of it to show the floor that the elevator was working toward. 

I made an effort to avoid looking anywhere but forward after that, not wanting the guard to get too suspicious of me. Just before the elevator came to a stop there was a gush of fresh air which was followed by harsh bright sunlight that forced me to cover my face with my hand. I heard the guard open up the doors before saying “You have an hour and a half, then I’ll come and collect you.” 

I blinked through the bright light as I stumbled out of the elevator; my feet immediately came into contact with soft green grass, the smell of which made my body relax about as much as my kisses made Arthur relax. I heard the elevator doors slide shut behind me and didn’t even bother looking back; I knew that both the elevator as well as the guard was gone. The courtyard for exercise was far more than I had expected; it was obviously a rectangle of stone walls, three of which functioned as walls for the actual building of the compound. What I found most inspiring was the fourth fall, it was one of the longer sides, with trees clustered at the corners, benches under them and children’s play area in between the two shaded areas. 

I spent my exercise time running laps at various paces while I scoped out the play area; I had a plan cooking, and I think Arthur might actually like it. I ran and ran until I saw the elevator doors open on the opposite side of the courtyard. I jogged over to them where a different guard was waiting inside; his expression was equally as dull as the last. When the elevator came to a stop this time I made sure to keep track of the route from the elevator to my room. Left, right, down some stairs, to the left, to the right, then straight and to the right again. 

After opening my door and nudging me inside, the guard let me know that I would have some free time before dinner was served. “Um,” I speak up, surprising the man. “I was wondering if I might be able to talk to Dr. Gaius.” The guard nodded roughly before closing the door; I took that to mean that he would pass along the message. 

I was beginning to feel pent up, it had been twenty-four hours and my instincts were all over the place. Okay, fine, if I was being honest, I wanted to find out if Arthur was right; from what Gaius and Arthur had implied Alphas were mindless sexual deviants, unable to control themselves around and Omega in heat. But that’s not what I was feeling towards Arthur; I wanted to see him smile, to feel him breathe underneath my touch, to see his face relax. I wanted him happy more than I wanted to bed him. But that wasn’t the only thing I wanted to know; now that I was becoming used to my feelings and duties for Arthur, I needed to know more about this place. And Gaius had offered to answer my questions; as long as I could disguise my inquiries so they aren’t too obvious, I might be able to get some good information. 

I was contemplating sneaking over to visit Arthur, I could feel his anxiety in the heaviness of the air; but within the hour the door was sliding open again and the old physician came in; there was a file in his hand, and he had a pair of reading glasses perched on his nose. “I heard you wanted to speak with me;” his voice was somewhat business-like and I got the feeling that maybe he had been in the middle of something else before hearing that I had asked for him. “How may I help you Merlin?”

“I was wondering if you had heard anything about my mother yet.” The words were out of his mouth before he could even think; before Arthur, his instincts had helped him save his mother. He would not get another chance to ask the physician again, if Arthur agreed to the plan. 

Gaius nodded before moving his glasses to sit on his head. “I reached out to the physician from your village; your mother is conscious and recovering from her illness, she’ll be in the hospital a while longer though I’m afraid. Try not to worry and I’ll let you know if there’s any other news.”

I nod, a wave of relief crashing over me as I sit on my bed; at least one person I cared about was on the mend. “Thank you Gaius.”

I take a breath to calm my nerves before diving into the rest of my quandaries. “Is this what my life will be from now on Gaius? Meals, exercise, the occasional visit from you and the guards? Will I get to go to school or see other Alphas or even just have something to occupy my time with?” 

I look up at the doctor, my eyes taking in his demeanor; he hasn’t looked at that file in his hands, which seems odd. “Well, officially you’re under quarantine;” when my eyes widen he continues in a rush. “According to the medical results you’re right on the verge of maturity, which means you’ll go into your first rut soon. When that happens we can’t have you around any other Alphas or Omegas; Alphas will try to kill you and you’ll be driven to force yourself upon any Omega. It wouldn’t be safe to have you out in the general populous until after your rut occurs. I’ll have to monitor you when your rut happens, run some medical tests, and when it concludes the administration will decide whether they’re equipped to handle your containment.”

I make a garbled growl as I flop back onto the bed for a moment. I pop back up a second later. “I understand that this is for my safety and other’s safety as well, but Gaius   
this is no way to live. Is there any way to curb such instincts?” I search his face, desperate for an answer. 

He sighs; “I’m afraid that the science behind such ideas as this is not sufficient, so I can only relate it as theory, but there are some homeopathic treatments that are thought to help. There’s a Druid folklore that makes mention to a ritual for Alphas and Omegas; a mating that involved biting and claiming and all sorts of other shamanistic things. After rituals of the sort, there was thought to be a calming of the hormones and pheromones between the two parties; but any such trial to replicate such affect has only met in tragedy.” 

I nod, understanding that even this was a cautionary tale; the hope was dim, if it was even there to begin with. “I understand,” I finally say. 

Gaius waits, but when I don’t speak and my eyes don’t look to him for a while he shifts uncomfortably. “I’m sorry Merlin, but the research is progressing every day. It may not seem like it, but even compounds such as this are helping that progress.” When I don’t respond beyond a shrug and a nod he continues. “If there’s nothing else, I must be on my way. I have another patient to check in on before the evening’s through.” 

I look up at him solemnly. “Thank you again Gaius, I appreciate it.” 

After he leaves I lie on my back on my bed and listen. I can hear muffled voices coming from Arthur’s room; Gaius is probably administering some sort of medication or attending to his IV or something. I can only hope that he isn’t doing something that makes Arthur feel worse; he’s a doctor though, so I can feel a little better about that. I’ll have to wait a little longer to sneak over, but that will give me time to digest the information Gaius just gave me. How could it just be chemicals drawing me to Arthur? I care about him; it’s not just a physical need. But I have noticed his physical attractiveness, and it isn’t until now that I think I come to the realization that I’ve been avoiding how attractive Arthur is to me. I feel horrible, as if just thinking about him in that way, when he’s already feeling so used, is taking advantage of the situation. I can’t do that; Arthur is more than just a body to be drawn to, he’s something far more. What, exactly, I still haven’t figured out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Merlin might need Arthur just as much as Arthur needs him. How are we feeling about this chapter my friends?


	11. Calm before the Storm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice, warm, melty romantic moment between the boys before the big break out. Merlin's POV.

It was black as ink outside my tiny window before I snuck over to see Arthur; I wanted to make sure that there was no chance of being interrupted. I could hear Arthur whining and panting before I even slid into the air duct; his voice was small, but I could swear I heard my name on his breath like a prayer. By the time I was sliding down from the duct onto the tile floor of his room, Arthur’s face was craned as far as it could go so he could watch me coming. “You’re here…” his voice strained to stay level as I came to him; he was drenched in sweat and he looked as if he’d been crying. “Thank god…I…I missed-“

I took my place near his head and soundly swallowed the rest of his sentence with a kiss that quickly deepened; surprisingly, it was Arthur whose lips parted and tongue flicked to taste my lips. What followed was a good twenty to thirty minute make out session, during which I laced my fingers with Arthur’s, even with the restraints, and hovered over his arching body. I was so tempted to just lift myself onto the bed so I could curl into his side and sooth his ache in a better way, but I didn’t; when I broke away to breathe finally, I forced myself to sit down on the tile floor, as close to Arthur as possible. 

I panted, trying to get my breath back; Arthur, on the other hand, let out a soft whine. “Come back,” I hear him panting as well, but his fever seems to be coming down a bit now. I try to push down the warm satisfaction that’s bubbling up inside me; the part of me that wants Arthur’s praise, his recognition for helping him. That’s not what this is about; it can’t be about that, not now. 

“I think I can get us out of here,” I say instead, because otherwise I might just go back to kissing him. “But I still haven’t figured out how to get through our doors; that’s the only hurdle left, and then we can get out of here.”

Arthur’s hand is gripping mine tightly, his eyes focused on them as if they’re the most amazing thing in the world. “I…I need to say something.” He breathed a huge sigh, not taking his eyes off our hands. “I… I was an ass… You should have just left me…I deserve it.” 

I squeeze Arthur’s hand and his eyes flicker to mine. “I’m…” he clears his throat. “I can’t believe you came back after… I saw your face… You looked so hurt.”

“Arthur,” I can’t stand to hear him stammer through his apology. His eyes look up into mine and I can’t help but smile a little. “I missed you too, you know; and I also freaked out today too, so we’re even. Okay?” 

He nods, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips and his eyes were dewy. “So, any ideas on how to get through these steel doors?” We need to move past this, at least for now; once we’re safe we can talk about what we want to be to each other. 

Arthur’s tremors are slowing, his sweats are drying, and his temp is lower; he might be able to help me think of a way through these doors. And from the mischievous glint that appears in his eyes, I like our odds. “I might have a way, but we’ll need to be fast about it.”

Arthur goes through his part of the plan; it’s complicated, and he’s right when he says that we’ll need to be fast, and it’s going to take at least a day of preparation. When he’s finished I tell him about what I’ve come up with; we both agree that it should work as long as I can get Arthur’s heat under control a bit before we put everything into motion, and even then I’ll need to keep him close so he’s able to function. The plan is good, or rather it’s the best we could come up with; and there isn’t much time. With Arthur’s heat progressing, there’s a small window of opportunity to get him out before he’s completely incapacitated by the heat. We put the pieces together, talk it through over and over again, and by the time Arthur’s eyes are fluttering closed with exhaustion I feel as if tomorrow night has more than a slight possibility of actually working. 

“I should get going,” I whisper in his ear as I squeeze his hand, about to pull away from him. 

Arthur made a sleepy irritable sound as he squeezed back; he cracked his eyes open and mumbled “not yet.” 

I chuckled softly, running my free hand through his hair; it was dry now, and I was surprised at how soft it was. “I have to get some rest before tomorrow night, and you don’t want me getting caught here. I know you don’t.” 

He grumbles again before inhaling through his nose. “Kiss good night?” He asks on the exhale. 

And he looks so sweet, sleepy and comfortable, that I can’t say no even if I wanted to. Our lips press together gently; I keep it short for both our sakes and when I pull away I take my hand from his as well. He murmurs a little as I sneak back through the duct, and I swear I think I left my heart in his bed. Arthur might not think much of whatever is between us, yet, but I think even he’s feeling what I am feeling. When I’m finally back in my room, in my bed, lying there in the darkness, all I can think about is Arthur. I can’t help but imagine that instead of being in my bed, that tonight-in my head at least-I’m curled up in Arthur’s bed with him. I drift off to that image in my mind and that warm satisfaction curled in my chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Arthur-first he's up, then he's down, then he's needy... Poor baby. So, are you guys ready for the big escape?


	12. Flight, Fight, and Fire

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it just me or did this chapter take a little longer than usual? Anyway, it's here and I think you'll like it. By the way, you guys are more than welcome to look me up on Instagram and Twitter: Snickle91. we're all friends now I figure.

The next day is more nothing for me, the guards bring me my meals, and I spend my time in the courtyard testing the strength of the benches, tree branches, and play equipment, and I sit and try not to listen to Arthur’s heavy breathing through the air vent. His heat must be exceptionally bad today, because I can hear his whining, moaning, hissing breaths. I can also hear when Gaius goes in and out of his room, but other than a curtesy “How are you feeling Arthur?” and the responding grunt, there wasn’t much information to listen in on. 

I don’t think I started to relax until the sun started to set and the guard came and collected my dinner tray; I knew from the past two days that this was the end of my day; no one else would come into my room for the rest of the night. I waited until the sky outside my window turned inky to sneak over to Arthur’s room; originally, the idea was to set everything up before soothing Arthur’s heat, but as soon as my feet hit the tile I knew that wasn’t an option. 

“Oh, Arthur,” I coo as I crouch down next to him and slide my hands onto his cheeks. 

His eyes crack open; his crystal blue eyes take a moment to focus. “Merlin,” he breathes. “God, I missed you. Is it time?”

I nod, and then hush him with a tender kiss; Arthur’s too addle-brained to deepen it, so I just gently move against his mouth and kiss the corners of his mouth for a few minutes. “Do you think you can stand a few minutes without me? I could cut your restrains now if you want.”

Arthur nodded furiously; he had been tied up for almost three days. “Cut them, cut them now; please.” 

I stand up and turn around; Arthur had been well enough the first couple of days to notice that his room was more of a medical room than a bed room; there was a small cabinet and counter opposite his bed. Going over to it and opening the first drawer, I am rewarded by seeing an assortment of random medical supplies. “You were right Arthur,” I say as I grab a pair of medical scissors and go back to his side. 

Arthur does his best to stay still as I carefully wiggle the scissors in between his skin and the restraint; I do his ankles first and then his wrists. I’m a little anxious as I free his last wrist; I hope that he’s not too far gone into his heat that he loses sight of our goal. I’m right to be warry; as soon as Arthur’s free he launches himself at me. I barely manage to stay standing as his limbs tangle around me and his lips latch onto mine in a greedy kiss. 

Thankfully, after some time, as well as so wriggling on my part, Arthur’s heat seems to be tempered a bit and he slowly releases me. “Sorry,” he mumbles against my lips as he draws away from me. “I’ll be good, I swear.”

I chuckle as I place my hands on his shoulders to push him back a bit more; now that he’s vertical, I can tell we’re about the same height, but he’s broader in the hips and in the shoulders with a trim muscled middle section. “Once we’re out of this place, we’ll have to discuss this whole kissing thing…”

We both chuckle softly, Arthur’s looking at his feet; we need to get out of here. “I’ll take the sheets and scissors, see if you can find something to ignite this mess; okay?” He’s still not looking at me, but he nods. 

I tear the sheet off of the gurney before heading back through the air duct; Arthur’s already got his head in one of the cabinets by the time I’m shoving the thin blanket into the narrow space. Back in my room, I take to shredding my sheet and his into strips; I make a small pile under my bed, then trail a couple of pieces towards the door. I quickly slide back through the vent, hoping Arthur’s still hanging onto his consciousness. 

“Here,” he hisses through gritted teeth; he pushes an armful of items into my chest, and I have to grab them before they fall to the ground. “Rubbing Alcohol and a portable cauterizing pen.” His breathing is uneven again, and I can see him almost doubling over. 

“Arthur,” I try to put down the things in my arms; I would replace them with him, to take away his suffering. 

But he cuts me off. “Go,” he huffs. “Set it up, we’ll have a few minutes while it catches; you can hold me then.” I can’t help but snort a laugh before I swoop in and kiss his cheek. 

“Be back soon Dollophead,” I whisper before I’m gone. 

I chuckle to myself as I squeeze back over to my room; I imagine his face, hoping that his bewilderment at the name gives him a moment’s peace from the heat. In my room I douse the shredded sheets in the rubbing alcohol, make sure to soak the trail and pour the rest as close to the door as possible; then, I find a tiny outlet to plug the pen into under my desk. It will take a few minutes for the pen to heat up, so I extend the cord and lay the pen in the trail of alcohol soaked sheets and scurry back through the air vent. 

Arthur’s sitting on the edge of the gurney, his head’s between his knees and his palms are pressed to his eyes. I sit down next to him, my arms instinctive curl around him, bringing him into my chest. “It’s all set,” I whisper as I hear him take slow deep breaths against my collarbone. “We just need to wait.” We sit like that for five minutes before Arthur’s tremors stop. 

I smell the first wafts of smoke when I feel Arthur’s head tilt up; his lips caress my adam’s apple, goosebumps spring up on my arms, which contract around him. The smell of acrid fire is pungent, and I know I need to tell Arthur; we need to be ready as soon as the doors open, but then his lips move to the tender flesh just under my jaw. “Arthur,” I can’t help the snap in my voice. I force my arms to release him, but he doesn’t move. 

I put my palms on his shoulders and pushed gently until he was arm’s length away. His blue eyes were deeper somehow when I looked into them. “It’s almost time; we have to be ready.” He makes a disgruntled grumble but we both stand up. 

We make it to the door before black smoke starts to flow from my room into Arthur’s; no sooner than that, and there’s a whirring siren and I hear all the locks click. “Here we go,” I whisper as I press my shoulder to the door. I felt the strain build between my shoulder blades as I pressed against the door, but soon enough it opened. I stuck my head out into the hallway; sure enough, Arthur was right, the steel door that had divided the hallway was wide open, red lights were spinning round and round all over the place. 

“Quick,” I whisper. I grab Arthur’s hand, twine our fingers, and take off down the hall. I follow the directions in my head, carefully keeping an ear out for any guards; at one point I heard the sound of running feet, so I pulled Arthur into a maintenance closet. 

We’re crammed together like sardines in a tin, breathing heavily, and trying to listen. Arthur’s shaking, so I hug him into my chest, because in the darkness I can’t tell if it’s due to nerves or his heat. I shush him softly, rubbing my hands down his back. “It’s okay; we’re more than halfway to the elevator.” 

I listen, and after the running, there’s some distant shouting and receding sounds. We wait a few more minutes, then I stick my head out; the hall is clear, so we take off again. I keep ahold of Arthur’s hand, desperate to keep him with me; he keeps pace with me, so I don’t have to worry about him falling behind. It only takes us a few more minutes to reach the elevator, but I pray that it’ll come quickly because there’s nowhere to hide in this hallway. I jab the call button and the car slides down a moment later; I pull the doors open and shove Arthur into it; he stumbles a bit and calls me an idiot. 

I don’t respond until I’ve stepped into the car and closed the doors; as I yank the lever to the marking for the courtyard I chuckle and snap back “clotpole”. When the car lurches into motion we both erupt into soft giggles; I can’t help it, I go over to him and take his face in my hands. “Are you okay? Anything broken? Twisted ankles?” I murmur as I rub my thumbs over his cheeks. 

He scoffs lightly. “I think you messed up my hair.”

I smile and both my hands slip up into his messy blonde mop; my intention was to ruffle it even more, maybe make him laugh out right, but as I did it I saw Arthur’s eyes roll back and close. We stay like that; I let him relax under my touch and I indulged in his warm scent. I feel the car slow down, which means we’ll need to run. 

“Last dash,” I whisper. “You ready?”

Arthur nods, opens his eyes, and we step towards the doors. I wrench open the doors before grabbing his hand again; we take off, and I lead the way to the corner of the courtyard. We’re well hidden in the shadows of the trees, so I feel a little better letting go of Arthur’s hand. I point out the strongest branches before I give him a boost; it isn’t until I’m on one knee, my hands laced together with Arthur’s foot braced within them that I scoff. 

“What?” Arthur hissed down at me, his hands braced on the trunk of the tree. 

“Suddenly, I’m your manservant.” I hiss between fits of laughter. I hear him grumble, but before he gets the chance to tell me off-that can all happen later-I stand up quickly and propel him straight up. He grabs the branch that he was aiming for, so I sigh in relief. “My turn,” I say before backing up a fair bit. I take a running start and then leap straight into the tree; I don’t get nearly as high as Arthur, but I quickly make up to him by climbing up the branches. 

“Now what?” Arthur snaps, obviously snarky due to my joke. 

I smile at him before I steal a kiss from his lips and take his hand. “We’re so close, just a little further.” I breathe against his lips. “I can’t wait to do this as a free man,” I peck his lips again before leading the way across the branch. 

The branch that we’re on dips as it gets further from the trunk, but it’s high enough that when we’re close enough we can drop down onto the wall. I go first; going from a crouch to laying on my stomach, I dangle my legs until my feet find the cinder blocks and then I slide off of the tree branch. When I’m secure, I help Arthur through the same process, until he slides down into my arms. 

“Okay,” I breathe. “Now comes the big finale. You think you can handle it?”

Arthur’s eyes and jaws are set as he nods, eyes locked on mine. “Together.” 

We turn, hands clasped together, and in the next breath we take a leap. We fall a hundred yards into the dark night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think will happen next? I'm so excited to hear from you


	13. Follow the River

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's very late here in Cali where I'm writing, so I love you all but there's not much to say before...

I hold my breath and I hold Merlin’s hand as we fall through the darkness. My legs are knocked out from under me as I tumble down a concrete embankment; my hand let go of Merlin’s as I instinctually protect my head. We roll a ways down the embankment I suppose; in comparison the fall was nothing to the rolling. The journey comes to an abrupt stop when I tumble into an all-together not-so-shallow water. 

I’m dizzy and turned around, so the black water does nothing but turn me on my head; I can’t seem to find the surface, and my lungs are screaming for air. But of course, Merlin’s got me; his hand snatches me up from the water and pulls me towards the embankment. We clutch at each other while we gasp for breath, the water licking at our ankles. The sirens are still howling faintly in the distance, so we’re not in the clear-though, I don’t know if Merlin has a plan now that we’ve escaped. 

“Come on,” Merlin hisses in my ear after my breathing is steady again. “There’s a current, which means this must attach to some sort of river; we’ll follow it.”

I let him help me stand up, our hands still locked together; it’s embarrassing how much I like to have him close, to feel his touch, and that moment before the fire caught... I thought I might die from embarrassment, but instead I just craved him even more. We jog as best we can through the mud at the edge of the water; we each stumble and get stuck a few times, but we help each other. 

The water curls around one side of compound, which looks enormous from the outside; as we pass beneath the huge white walls, we could see the silhouettes of people rushing about in a panic playing across the window panes. I try not to focus on the other Omegas, possibly even Will, who are still inside that place; I squeeze Merlin’s hand tighter, wondering how I could have found the one Alpha who wanted to help me. Once we pass under the windows of the compound, the water begins to stretch in a different direction; soon, the sirens are fading away and the lights from the windows are like twinkling stars over my shoulder. 

“Merlin,” I hiss as I get caught in ankle deep mud for the millionth time. He stops, his breaths coming in steamy puffs as he turns to help me. “Its cold; the water from before, and it’s only getting colder.” I feel a different kind of shivering running along my arms. 

Together we pull my foot free with a wet squelching sound, but we’re both winded. “I think we can rest a bit,” he says. 

Before he has a chance to change his mind, I grab his hand and start trudging in the opposite direction of the water; I take us up a little hill covered in tall grass, just a few yards really, and promptly sat down amongst the grass and gently tugged on Merlin’s arm. “Sit,” I can’t keep the whine out of my voice or the pout off of my lips. 

In the dim light of the waning moon I catch Merlin’s smirk before he flops down onto the soft ground next to me; he stretches out, his arms folded behind his head and his long lean legs crossed at the ankles-even with mud up to shins, he’s somehow beautiful. I sit cross-legged next to him, turned so I can see his face even though the shadows of the grasses hide most of the pretty features. 

“You seem better,” he says softly, his hand absently drawing circles on my lower back. 

I pluck a blade of grass and twirl it in between my fingers. “It’s always better when you touch me; even just a little.” My voice is so quiet; I’m so ashamed, wanting Merlin so deeply infuriates me. 

“Glad I could help,” he murmurs; I can tell he’s tired too, but I can’t help but feel electricity running through my body, and the source is his hand on my back. 

“What’ll we do now?” It had to be asked; if there isn’t a plan, then we’re sure to be caught again. 

Merlin sighs heavily, his fingers still tracing patterns but my shirt is riding up and he’s dangerously close to skin-to-skin contact. “We follow the river,” and he says it like I’m an idiot. “We still have six or seven hours till dawn, that should give us a good chance to find somewhere to wait out some of the chaos.” 

“But…” I’m about to tell him it’s ridiculous; he can’t possibly think that staying put will stop them from finding us. 

“We have to,” he cuts me off casually. “Your heat is going to be even worse tomorrow; I was worried that you wouldn’t be able to make it this far. Plus, there’s another reason…” He sighs again, making a garbled grumble, but he doesn’t continue. 

“What other reason?” I poke him in the face with my blade of grass; he smiles and bats it away laughing quietly. 

“Fine, I guess since we’re in this together you might as well know.” He giggles before settling back down, allowing me to brush the blade of grass softly over his features; he closes his eyes and inhales deeply. “The doctor at the compound, Gaius, said that I was going into rut soon…I don’t exactly know what that means, but I’ve felt a little… I don’t know, protective, agitated, restless. It’s hard to describe.”

My heart stutters and my blade of grass freezes. I turn away from him, pull my knees up to my chin; I should be scared, terrified that he might turn on me and pin me down and force himself on me. Instead, I’m more worried that he might take off and leave me alone; Merlin seems like the chivalrous type, to leave so he won’t hurt me. 

“What’s wrong?” His voice is soft in my ear, his breath warm on my neck and cheek; he’s sitting up now, and I can feel his arm hovering around my waist. “You got quiet.”

“Just worried,” I huff; it’s not like there’s any reason to lie to Merlin. There’s also no reason for me to grab his arm and secure it around me, but I do that. “I might make it worse; hormones or whatever.”

Merlin inhales deeply, his nose in my neck. “I have a feeling you’ll make it better, but if you’re concerned about your safety I’m sure I could find someplace safe for you and then go off…”

I turn my head, his mouth landing softly on the side of my lips. “Don’t you dare…” I press gently into him. “We’re in this together now.”

He smiles against my mouth, but slowly pulls away. “Then we best be back on our way.” He stands, lifting me along with himself as if I was a rag doll. I muffle a giggle at the action. “I think we can walk from here; and we can avoid the mud as long as we stay with the river.” He takes my hand and leads me closer to the water. 

We walk through the grasslands in the moonlight; we stay silent, or rather I do, because I know he’s keeping his ears open for any sound that might be dangerous. It feels like forever that we walk; Merlin leads while I take in our surroundings as they change. The river leads into a heavily wooded area which bodes well for finding a hiding place; but then the geography changes again. 

“What’s that?” I hiss; the river is cutting through a rocky patch in the woods when Merlin yanks me behind a tree. When I’m pinned between the tree and Merlin’s warm body, I can hear what startled him; there’s a creaking noise and the sound of rushing water-not the same as the soft gurgling of the river. 

“If I asked you to stay here while I went to check it out, what would you say?” He whispers. 

“I’d say you’re an idiot,” I scoff. 

We approach from the side, very slowly and as quietly as possible. Merlin held onto my hand tightly as a small building comes into view; it looks ancient, but sturdy. “Is that…” I start.

“An old wheelhouse.” Merlin finished. 

The main building was a log cabin with a set of stairs leading up to a door, cloudy windows set here and there. We creep forward and edge up the stairs; they don’t creak, and when Merlin peers into the little window set into the door he doesn’t recoil. “Seems clear, we should take a look and see inside though.” There’s no lock; Merlin pushes inside, the hinges a bit stiff. It’s dark and musty inside, but warm and dry. We stand in the darkness for several minutes, barely breathing, but still nothing happens. 

“Think it’s safe to stay for a day or two?” Merlin’s voice echoes around us in the void. 

“Better than out in the cold or in a damp cave.” I mumble. He chuckles dryly. I let Merlin lead, mostly because he just bumps into things, and eventually we find a huge pile of musty straw. And I realize how exhausted I am when I think that that pile of straw looks like the most comfortable bed I’ve ever seen. 

“Arthur?” I hear Merlin’s voice, but it seems far away. “Arthur?” I’m sinking to my knees. “Oh my god, Arthur.” I feel lighter as Merlin catches me and even though my eyes are already closed I can feel him lay me gently on the straw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> leave me little words of encouragement. Also, i need to know how we feel about smut; do we want some in this sorty or do we want Teen rating non-explicit stuff.


	14. Nesting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I need honest feedback-I've been working on this chapter for over a day and suddenly I can't tell if i like it at all, but I can't look at it anymore, so I am giving it to you guys.

Arthur had swayed, buckled, and then I had caught him before he had collapsed head first into the mound of straw. His eyes rolled back into his head and he went limp in my arms, and no amount of me saying his name seemed to do anything to revive him. He was warm, a sheen of sweat clinging to his brow, but his chest was rising and falling as it should be. I swept Arthur’s form into my arms, his legs and head lolling over my forearms as I carried him to a more comfortable looking portion of the straw; I laid him down on his back, his head propped up a bit. 

I had to act quickly; Arthur’s heat, however it may manifest itself, would render him immobile for who-knows-how-long and I needed to find him somewhere comfortable to ride it out. I sit next Arthur in the straw, running my hand through his hair that’s the same color gold. I take in the room that surrounds us; it’s a large space, and it’s been mostly empty for a long time-I can tell because of the thick layer of dust on the floors. Everything is made of wood except for the heavy iron pot-bellied stove that sits in the corner; and there’s a set of stairs across the room that leads up to a second floor. I debate with myself for a while before I give Arthur’s forehead a kiss and trot up the stairs to see if there’s anything useful upstairs; it’s a loft filled with piles of what used to be supplies, maybe this had been someone’s hunting cabin at one point or something. I poke around until I find blankets and firewood; I fill the blankets with as many logs as I can before twisting them into make shift sacks and dragging them downstairs. 

Arthur is still passed out on the straw, so I work restlessly to put together the room; first thing I do is go to the stove with a few of the logs of firewood under my arm. I’m lucky enough to find a box of matches that’s fallen behind the huge belly of the stove, so I fill the stove up with straw first and then throw a match in to see it catch; once the fire’s started I eased in the pieces of firewood. Once I was satisfied with the fire, I turned back to the room; there were pieces of old furniture strewn about in the dust, but nothing even resembling a bed. There were tables though, a few long tables that had box-like lips to them. I brought three of the tables together, turned them all upside down, and created several more pieces of firewood by ripping their table legs off leaving only the upturned boxes on the floor. I spent a fair amount of time filling up the boxes with straw, packing it in as tightly as it can be; after, I take the blankets and tuck them over the straw… It may not be anything, but it’s big enough for both of us, and it’s by a nice warm fire, and there are extra blankets.

I go back over to Arthur; he’s still unconscious, his fever seems to be getting worse, and his body is trembling. I scoop him into my arms and take him over to the bed I’ve made; once he’s settled on one side I slip onto the other side. I pull Arthur’s limp form closer, wrapping him up in my arms and pressing my nose into his neck; his trembling stops and his breath evens out, but he doesn’t wake. We’ve been running all night, I remind myself, and his body may just need the rest. I curl around him and pull one of the extra blankets over us; I can’t fight my own exhaustion any longer, and soon I fall into a light sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought it was a fun idea to have Alpha Merlin do the nesting for his mate...   
> I still like that idea, and yet I cannot figure out if i like this chapter


	15. Soothing Kisses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I would work double time to get this chapter out in the same day since the last one was really short. I hope you like it.

I woke up in a sweaty frenzy with the sounds of running water and birds chirping surrounding me, and rays of sunlight breaking through chinks in the walls; and through all this annoyance, the warm breath on the back of my neck became like a cooling salve. But it wasn’t enough; I thrashed, kicking off blankets and squirming in Merlin’s arms. 

“Arthur,” his voice was hushed as his arms tightened around me. “Stay still Arthur, please.” His words were breaths on my ear. 

“Can’t,” I pant. “Burning up.” I try to twist around to face him, but his arms hold me still. 

“You have to try,” he’s panting too. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

I still, as best I can, suddenly aware of how tense his body is. “Merlin,” I feel his hips twitch behind me and feel his hard member press between my cheeks. I try to stifle a moan, try to pass it off as a yawn; but I feel his breath hitch on the back of my neck. “Are you…”

He groans from behind me, but now that I’ve calmed down a bit he seems to be relaxing his grip a bit. “Yes,” he feels just as warm as I do. “It came on sometime in the morning, but your squirming woke me in a rather abrupt way.” He chuckles as I feel his hands unclench; one hand presses softly to my stomach while the other arm moves up to create a pillow for my head. 

We stay still for a moment; I like this, but I know he has to be uncomfortable. “May I turn around?” I ask in a hushed tone.

“Do you promise not to wriggle like you were before?” I nod. “Just be slow about it.” 

I turn in his arms so I can lay on my other side and prop myself up on my elbow to look down on his handsome face. “Well, you don’t look like a sex-crazed beast who is going to rip my clothes off and force himself on me, impregnate me and leave me ruined.” I say, running a hand over his forehead; he’s hot and his cheeks flush at the mention of sex, but his eyes close as I touch him. 

“You don’t seem so bad yourself,” he murmurs, his eyes still closed. 

I smile down at him, my hand moving to stroke his cheek. “I woke up burning alive,” I chuckle. “And now, I feel just fine.”

“That’s good,” he mumbles; he sounds like he’s going to fall asleep any second. 

I take a look around; over merlin’s shoulder I can see the pot-belly stove, the embers dying in its grate, the mound of straw on the other side of the room, and the rest of the room scattered with dilapidated wooden furniture. “Merlin,” I lean down and whisper in his ear so as not to disturb his rest too much. “Where did you manage to find this bed?”

His eyes open, but they’re slow to respond; he laughs breathily before finally saying “I made it”. My jaw went slack and my lips fell open in surprise. “You made it?” I echo.

He nods his head slowly, his big blue eyes trained on my face; his entire body was so relaxed and comfortable, his face so open. I lay my head back on his arm and snuggled as close to him as I could. “Is it safe for me to touch you?” I whisper, my eyes locked on his.

“Nothing frisky,” he quips. 

I twine my arms around his torso and my feet find his under the blanket; I pull myself flush against him. He lets out a sigh that hisses through the air near my ear. “Bad? Should I not?”

I was about to retract my arms, but Merlin’s arms snaked around my waist and hold me against his chest. “Don’t even think about it…” he mumbles as he snuggles his nose into my hair just by my ear. “This is the most calm I’ve felt all morning.” He hums into my hair and I feel the vibrations on my skin. 

I giggle softly as I tighten my arms around his back, my palms pressing into his shoulder blades. “Me too,” I breath into his ear. “It’s amazing how one person can have such an effect on another.” 

“Do you mean me,” he smiled into a kiss on my neck. “Or some other Alpha?” He chuckled. 

I had forgotten the words I had said only days ago; and here they were, but now, I felt ashamed of them. “I may not have a lot of experience with Alphas,” I begin in a soft   
voice. “But I don’t think that there’s any other Alpha or person who would have this same effect on me; you’re special Merlin.” I feel him smile against my neck, and suddenly I’m brave; brave enough to turn my head and seek out his lips with my own. 

I know I shouldn’t, that it might break his will power, but I can’t help but enjoy his mouth on mine; he’s passive, letting me take control. I suck on his lips one at a time before I coax his mouth open wider to gain access to his tongue. When I need breath, I take to lavishing kisses over his face; I place butterfly kisses on his eye lids, his cheeks, I even bury my nose in his raven waves to kiss those as well. When I move back to his mouth, it’s set in a tight line; a few gentle kisses, and he opens like a flower for me. 

I don’t notice that we shift as we’re kissing; from lying side by side, I press into him and almost crawl on top of him. But now, with a pained groan, Merlin rolls so that he can press me into the bed beneath us. He kisses me, with so much passion my knees bend and come off the bed; before I have a chance to hook my ankles behind Merlin’s waist, Merlin’s rolled away. He’s lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling, panting heavily; he’s an arm’s length away, but it feels like the other side of the world. 

I lay on my back, panting, wanting him to come back; but I know that he’s doing everything he can to control his urges, so I just stare at the side of his face. “Okay,” he sighs. “I think it’s safe. Come back over here.” He turns his face towards me, his eyes bright and shining, a smile twisting his mouth. 

I smile as I crawl back over to him; right back into his open and waiting arms, and Merlin situates us so that I lay half on his chest with my head just under his chin. “Seems like even kisses can be frisky,” I mumble into his shirt as I manage my arms around his slender middle. 

I’m about to add an apology when Merlin chuckles and squeezes me to his side even more. “Yeah, but I told you…” He sighs heavily, but happily. “I think you make it better; like being with you makes it so I don’t feel…” 

He stops talking with a sharp inhale. “What?” I turn my head so I can look at his chin. 

“I don’t feel like I need to go out and find something to screw around with,” he rubbed a hand over my back and side. “Having you here, it’s like I’ve already found whatever it is that I needed to look for…” And then he stills and everything is quiet for a moment. “Possibly the only thing I’ve ever needed.”

I lean up and kiss under his chin. “See,” I say gently. “No other Alpha would be as sweet as that.” 

He sighs. “We can talk more later; right now just come here and kiss me.”

I giggle as I obey, sliding up to capture his lips again. We pace ourselves this time; being close is enough, because we’re safe now. I can’t help the wonderful, yet overwhelming thoughts that run through my head as I hum as Merlin sucks on my neck. He’s utterly perfect; I should give into this instinct that’s urging me to do something I’m sure I’ll regret. Merlin hasn’t said as much, but I think he’s tried to; I think he loves me, why, I will never know. So, shouldn’t I want to be a good Omega; I should want to submit to his desires, let him have me body and heart. I wonder if Merlin likes children; I’ve heard that Alphas have a natural instinct, a desire to breed. I’ve never really thought about children before; I always just assumed I would be put on suppressants or been fitted with an implant so I wouldn’t be able to have any. 

These thoughts just kept rotating around my head while Merlin and I spent the day in the comfortable bed he’d made, just kissing and touching and holding each other. I didn’t dare bring up any of my worries; I knew that being in heat affected me, and if I woke up tomorrow feeling completely different, I didn’t want to be embarrassed. Merlin fell asleep in the afternoon; I was lying on my stomach, propped up on Merlin’s chest, watching him sleep. That’s when I realized how screwed I was; and as I fell asleep on Merlin, I prayed that either I would get to spend every day like this or I would wake up tomorrow and forget how it felt to fall in love with him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get a different perspective in the next chapter so be prepared for some interesting things


	16. Inside the Compound

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going back into the compound, third person narrative for this chapter. Uther is totally evil right now-you'll see, and i don't know if I'm going to change that. Uther just makes a really good bad guy.

“What do you mean my son is gone?!” Uther Pendragon roared, standing up so abruptly that his chair went clattering to the floor behind him. He was towering man, all muscle and prestige oozing off of his stiff form. 

“Shouting will not change the facts I’m afraid,” the short gray physician said, holding his posture just as straight as the other man and keeping his chin set. “There was a small fire in one of the medical wards a few nights ago; your son has not been seen since before the incident, in the hub-bub we cannot be sure of his movements but we’ve concluded that he is no longer within the compound.”

The two men glare at each other for a long minute before the younger of them huffs and turns to pick up his chair. He sits down and crosses his arms and legs regally, looking back at the physician. “Well, what sort of protocol does this facility intend to implement in order to find my son?” He treats the word as if it is poison on his tongue. 

The older man straightens his white lab coat and clears his throat. “Your son is not the only missing patient; the mother of the other young man will be here momentarily, and though I told you in advance it does not mean that either will be given priority over the other. Both young men are at equal risk, so both have equal priority in being recovered.”

There’s a soft knock on the metal door before it’s opened and a petite woman is ushered in by one of the less threatening guards. “Welcome,” the physician steps forward to shake her hand; she’s mousy, frail, and a tad overwhelmed. “You must be Merlin’s mother?”

She nodded wide-eyed. “Hunith Emrys,” she let the physician guide her to the other empty seat which was next to Uther. “You’ll have to pardon me, I’m still in quite a bit of shock; I only found out that Merlin was brought her yesterday, and now this morning I get a message that he’s missing. I was in the hospital myself recovering from a nasty flu. What’s going on?” She sat down and look to Uther, who promptly rolled his eyes and shifted his gaze back to the old man. 

“I am the head physician here, Doctor Gaius, if you will.” He took a position in front of both parents. “As I was telling Mr. Pendragon just before you arrived, there was a small fire in one of the medical wards; that was almost two day ago and neither of your children have been seen since. Now, the facility has some procedures for situations like this; the first and most important step was to inform both of you.”

Hunith was shaking, on the verge of sobbing. The doctor produced a box of tissue to offer her. “I know that this is a difficult thing to process, but we will be looking for your sons.”

“Do you think it was intentional?” Uther’s flat voice cut through the poor woman’s emotion. 

The physician quirked an eyebrow; Uther sighed. “Do you think the fire was intentional? Did her hoodlum kidnap my son?”

Hunith gasped and the doctor shook his head in exasperation. “How dare you; it could very well be coincidence that both our sons are missing and yet you blame my child.” Hunith scoffs, turning back to the doctor. “Do you think Merlin is okay? Was he near the fire? Could he need medical attention?” 

“I do not know much about the circumstances leading up to the fire or whether either of your sons had anything to do with it; it is suspected that they may be together outside the compound, but it’s unverifiable whether they conspired together.” 

“You said Arthur was in the midst of his first heat, correct?” Uther sighs, rubbing a hand over his face. “I assume that means he was strapped down and being monitored, yes?” The doctor nodded. “How much of a risk is my son in if he is in fact with this Merlin boy?”

Gaius shuffled from foot to foot uncomfortably. “Merlin was nearing his first rut, so unfortunately that increases the risk an exponential amount.” Uther groaned and covered his eyes. “But, as I said, there’s no saying whether they are out there together or separately.”

Hunith was now openly gawking at Uther. “You would rather hear that your son is strapped down?”

For the first time, Uther turns his attention fully to the tiny woman who’s sitting next to him; his face is twisted with anger. “Yes; and would you like to know why, you soft-hearted hippie-dippy woman?” Hunith’s eyes blazed as she closed her mouth into a tight line. “I would rather him be contained and well than to see him bare a litter of disgusting bastards; the embarrassment alone would tear my family’s reputation apart, and that’s not to mention the hardship Arthur would endure.” 

With his tirade over, his face red, and a vein pulsing in his neck, Uther paced the room once before turning back to the doctor. “You find my son, and if he’s already pregnant by the time you find him…” he reaches for the doorknob. “Terminate the damn things; I’ll sign whatever forms you need, just make sure he’s the only Pendragon you’re bringing back to this place.” And then he’s gone, stormed out and slammed the door behind him. 

Hunith stares at the space where Uther had once occupied, her eyes cold with hatred. “For such a man to speak that way of his own son,” she whispers. “It breaks my heart.”

She turns back to Gaius, her eyes filled with fear. “Gaius, my dear friend, please tell me the truth; tell me what you really know.”

The old physician sighs and finds himself sitting in Uther’s vacant seat. “I will not point the patrols in the right direction, but they may still be found; I cannot promise anything.” He took her hands in his.

“So they are together then?” She searches his faded blue eyes. 

He nods solemnly. “I believe that Merlin is Arthur’s true mate; they seemed drawn to each other, and Arthur’s heat was sated when Merlin was near him.”

Hunith inhaled through her nose. “I should go, before that horrible man suspects something; thank you for all you’ve done for my Merlin.” She stands, her hands still held by the doctor. “And though I trust you, I pray that neither boy is found; especially for Arthur’s sake.”

Gaius released her hands and Hunith quietly exits the same way as Uther. Gaius is left to let his head sink into his hands; he had delayed the patrols for this long, but tomorrow they would need to be deployed. He himself said a pray that Merlin would find his way to the sanctuary.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that this wasn't too emotional for you guys, i know that it was a little touchy there with Uther but nothing's happened yet so I figured that I was okay but let me know if you think i need to add a warning or a trigger tag so people know what they're getting into.


	17. Keep doing what we're doing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little fluff piece to get our hearts all melty again because I felt bad leaving us all upset cause Uther's a bad bad man.

I woke up curled around Merlin like a cat, my head resting half on his chest but mostly on his shoulder; our arms were around each other and out legs were tangled under the rough cotton blanket. There was a soft light coming in through the windows even though the sky was black; and what had woken me was the chilly breeze that was whistling through the gaps in the wall, so it must be night again. I tried very carefully not to move too much, not wanting to wake my sleeping Merlin; I pressed myself a bit more into his firm body, looking for warmth. 

I had just closed my eyes again, hoping to drift off to sleep with my nose buried in Merlin’s inky ruffled mane, when I felt Merlin’s arms pull at my waist; I heard a grumble and then a soft yawn. “I can’t believe we slept all day.” His voice is gravelly with sleep. 

I tilt my head up, but his eyes are still closed; his mouth, however, is quirked up at the corners. “How are you feeling?” I whisper in his ear. “Any urges to rip off my clothes and ravage me?” I can’t stop the giggle that escapes as I finish speaking. 

Merlin sighs, cracks his eyelids to look at me through his dark lashes, and then chuckles. “You must be feeling better if you’re joking about things like that.”

I nuzzle into his neck to lick under his ear, a smile glued to my face. “Well, to be sure I’d have to get up and see how I feel without you near me,” I whisper and I feel his body tense a bit. “And I’m much too comfortable here with you.”

Merlin’s body relaxed and he sighed in pleasure. “You tease,” he smirked. “And I feel much better, thanks mostly to you.” 

“Good,” I say and then I feel my smile turn into a grimace. “Because, I hate to say this, but we should consider leaving soon.”

Merlin groaned deeply and actually let go of me; he rolled over to smash his face into the bed. I laugh as I hear his thoroughly muffled complaints; I can’t make anything out, but I crawl over to him and drape myself on his back with my head falling over his shoulder so my lips couple caress the shell of his ear. “I can’t tell if this is because we have to get up or because of your rut.” I say in a hushed voice. 

I feel the vibrations of his laughter through his back, then he’s propping himself up on his elbows and looking at me over his shoulder. “I’m fine,” he grumbles with a fairly adorable pout. “I just,” he inhales deeply. “I guess I just wish we’d had more time to savor getting out of that place before we had to face reality.”

“Hey,” I say. He turns his head to look at me even better and I steal his lips, pressing softly until I feel his body relax under me. He continues our kiss as he turns over until he’s back to lying on his back and I’m on his chest. He moves to my neck, where he decides to suck kisses into my skin; I close my eyes for a few delicious moments, enjoying his ministrations. 

Eventually though, I remember the way I had been during the last few days of my heat and the words that Merlin had spoken the night before when we had been waiting for the fire to allow us our opportunity to escape. My eyes opened and I pulled away from those luscious lips that were trying to kiss their way to my collarbone. Merlin’s eyes are an even darker blue than I remember and his pupils are dilated as he looks at me with a curious look on his face. 

“What?” He asks with a tilted smirk. 

I lower my eyes, my cheeks flush, and I look at him through lowered lashes. “I think you were on to something,” my voice barely a whisper. “Back at the compound; I barely know you and I feel like…” 

I stumble, my breath hitching. Merlin silences me with a quick kiss. “Continue, please.” He breaths. 

“There’s something between us that’s more than…” I take a deep breath. “I don’t even know what to call it. But, I do know that I want to get to know you better.” Then I look at him, into those huge blue eyes that I wish I could swim in. “And I want to keep on doing this; I like it when you kiss me, when we’re close. I feel safe.” 

Merlin’s cheeks tint a bit as he smiles at me; I suddenly feel very exposed, and have to check to remind myself that I’m still fully dressed in the muddy clothes from the other night. “You’re adorable when you open up like this; it makes you ten times as beautiful as you always are.”

I chuckle and pull him in close for a hug so I can feel his heart thudding through our chests. “How come you can make me feel safe, but you can just as easily make me feel like a silly little girl? It’s not fair; you just do something to me.” 

He laughs in my hair. “I don’t know; I kind of like that you feel safe enough to open up to me. But, you were right before.” 

I pull back to give him a confused look. He grins devilishly. “It is unfair, all of it; so unfair, that we do have to get up and get moving.” We laugh at each other and tickling until Merlin “accidentally” rolls us both off the bed and onto the hard wood floor. “See,” he said as he stood up and reached a hand down to help me up. “Life is unfair, but at least we’ve got each other now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be in Merlin's POV just letting you know. Love hearing from you guys, but I know I am a little behind on some of my comments so I will try to check on you all tomorrow morning (I'm posting this at 1 in the morning where I am).


	18. Enjoy it...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made a big decision... It's been hanging over me since I started this fic, so it's about time I made it official. I hope you enjoy...

I feel as if my skin is too tight and the air is too thin when I’m not touching Arthur; all I want is to stay curled up with him in the little bed I had made for us, but I know that he’s right. It’s like we’ve switched, suddenly I can’t think straight without my hands on him and he’s the one whose mind is clear; as an “Alpha” I guess I should have been concerned with the “power” shift. Truth was, seeing Arthur smiling and feeling better, especially now that we were outside of the compound, was more uplifting than any sort of “power” trip. I wanted him happy and healthy, so why should I care about which one of us was taking the lead; I didn’t. 

We got up from the floor, still chuckling; I held his hand as I helped him up, and when we were both on solid ground I couldn’t help but laugh out right. He was caked with mud from his knees down, but the rest of his clothes were still immaculately white and his blonde hair was ruffled on one side and sticking straight up on the other. “What?’ Arthur laughed, nudging me with his elbow. 

I was laughing too hard, so I simply gestured down his body; his eyes follow, and he frowns. “Yeah, well, have you seen yourself?” He scoffed before cracking up himself. I looked down, and Arthur was right; my clothes were covered in mud and speckled with splatter. 

We laughed until tears glittered at the edge of our eyes and Arthur’s knees buckled; I catch him, our laughter dying down. “You’re cute in mud,” I say as I kiss his cheek and set him back on his feet. 

All I get is a sweet hum of approval, and then Arthur is taking my hand and leading me towards the door of the cabin. “Save the sweet talk for the next time we stop to rest.” When he gets to the door I tug on his hand a bit. He turns around, his face serious now; his eyes look silver in the moonlight. “Merlin,” the way he says it makes my heart pound against my ribs. “I don’t want to lose you when I’ve only just found you, so come on.”

I let him pull me out of the little house and into the chilly night air; however, Arthur isn’t exactly sure of where we are or which way to head, I can tell by the way his confidence ebbs away when we get outside. He’s looking around, his hand tightening around mine, and I step close to him and wrap my arms around him from behind. “I think we should head deeper into the woods,” I whisper in his ear; I feel him turn to look over his shoulder, a completely innocent look in his eyes as he goes “Oh”. “I think maybe that way, right?” I jerk my chin in the direction opposite of how we had come. 

He nods gently before stepping out from the circle of my arms and begins to lead us into the deeper part of the forest. We hold hands as we walk together in the darkness; it’s partly because I’m desperate to feel his skin against mine, but also because as the trees got denser around us we needed that contact to keep tract of each other in the growing darkness. 

I liked the way Arthur would tug on my hand when I got caught up in looking up at the dappled sky; okay, maybe I would get distracted by the way the moonlight highlighted Arthur in wonderful ways from behind. Occasionally Arthur would catch me looking at him from behind, his eyes glinting over his shoulder and his light laughter making my heart stutter. 

The trees were getting particularly thick around us when Arthur tugs a little too hard on my hand and I lose my grip; my heart stops and then starts hammering erratically. I hear Arthur rustling through the low hanging branches that we were struggling through before, but suddenly his form was melting into the darkness of the foliage. As the seconds ticked by and I did not follow and Arthur did not return, I began to feel panic rise up in my chest. 

“Arthur?” My voice is small as I call for him, my hands grazing harsh tree bark as I push myself through the harsh greenery. 

I hear his cheeky little giggle accompanied by more rustling, but there was no response. I repeated my call as I broke free from that tree and found the ground inclining into another clump of trees; another laugh echoed from somewhere in front of me, but I couldn’t see Arthur. 

“Look what I’ve found Merlin!” Arthur’s delight was evident in his little squeak of glee; I rushed up the hill and pushed through even more trees until I broke through a line of them and stumbled into a meadow bathed in moonlight. 

My breath rushed back into my body as I saw, standing a few yards away, surrounded by a cluster of twinkling little flowers, my gorgeous Arthur; he was grinning like a madman, an arm stretching out to meet me as my feet instinctually carried me towards him. “Look at how beautiful these are,” he squeaked as he drew me closer as our fingers twined. 

I wrapped him up again, my chin fitting nicely into the crook of his shoulder and neck; I was torn between looking at the glowing, twinkling, slightly purple daisies and staring at Arthur’s eyes as they danced over the flowers with delight all over his face. It was beautiful, but the flowers were dim in comparison to the happiness that was shining through Arthur; I couldn’t seem to control the happy little sounds that hummed out of my chest as I held him close to me. 

He giggled softly as I kissed his cheek. “What do you think makes them glow like that?” He murmured happily as I pulled us both down to sit amongst the flowers. 

I don’t even think; apparently more has changed than just my status as an “Alpha”, because my mouth opens and my voice speaks before I even process what I’ve just said. “Magic, of course.” 

Arthur chuckles and ignores me for a minute, watching the flowers as they twinkle. “Magic doesn’t exist Merlin,” he says finally, his voice quiet and somehow mourning. “If it did then I’m sure my father would have found a way to change me…” I feel a shiver run through him, and tighten my grip. “Or maybe he really just doesn’t care.” Arthur sighed sadly, turning his head so he could hide his beautiful face in my chest. 

My heart clenched; I could feel the pieces of Arthur’s heart shattering around us in that meadow, and all I wanted to do was love him to bits because all of his broken pieces were as beautiful as the picture they made up. “My mother always told me that anything was possible,” I murmured. “Maybe you just weren’t looking in the right place. Maybe it’s not about fixing a problem, but enjoying the magic that is already around us.” I press a kiss into his golden mane. 

I felt a sniffle come from him as he pressed even further into my chest. And I don’t know why I did it, maybe because I wanted to make a grand gesture of showing him the flowers-proof that magic was, indeed, all around us. But I said “Look!” and waved my arm across the meadow before us. 

My eyes widened as Arthur turned his head back to the flowers; he gasped and I froze. All around us the twinkling flowers had begun to pull free of their stems and float around us in a perfect circle; it was as if they were dancing through the air, just to make my sweet Arthur smile again. 

“Oh Merlin,” Arthur sighed breathily, his eyes following the flowers as they floated just out of reach. “How?” He reached a hand out, but as he caught one of the flowers the others drifted swiftly back to the ground. 

Arthur was smiling again, the flower pressed to his nose, as he turned his dazzling eyes on me; he wanted an answer and I had none to give. “Can’t all Alphas do… that?” I ask huskily, afraid of the answer. 

Arthur shook his head slowly; my heart stuttered, and not in the pleasant way it did for Arthur and his mere existence, and my blood turned cold. I should leave; whatever was happening to me, it wasn’t even typical for Alphas. I could be dangerous, and Arthur needed to be safe; I could disappear, maybe then he would be safe. He deserved better, safer, normal. And even now, I was clearly not fit to be here with him. 

It was in the midst of my internal tirade that I started to extricate myself from Arthur; but he made it very clear that that would not be happening. Arthur’s soft, gentle lips were on mine begging for attention brought my mind instant relief. As soon as they caressed my bottom lip I parted to give him entrance; he took it, nibbling on my mouth and sucking gently until I was at his mercy. My muscles and brain were simply reacting to the attention that Arthur was lavishing on me; when he move to my neck I could only close my eyes and breathe heavily into his ear. 

“Stop that thinking,” he whispered in my ear as he sucked my earlobe between his teeth. “I could hear it; you were thinking of leaving me.” I groaned as Arthur moved closer, pushing me gently so that he could guide me onto my back as he laid himself over my chest so he could continue his kissing. “Right now, you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” I echo as I kiss his collarbone. 

He smiles into my ear. “And I’m yours.” He pulls back enough to look into my eyes, so I open them; he smiles sweetly. “Together; which means we need to keep moving.” He leans back on his heels, so I smile and chase him; I sit up, cup his face, and kiss him fiercely. 

“You’re not scared?” I ask as I help him up from the ground. He shakes his head. “Is it okay that I am?” I lower my gaze to the flowers that are still glowing faintly around us. 

Arthur places his finger under my chin and lifts it so he can see my eyes. “You’re magic, so I’m going to enjoy it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A Magical Merlin is a very scared Merlin, but Arthur is still as sweet as ever. I had fun writing this one.


	19. Who is this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one took a longer time because the boys had to travel quite a bit... Hope you like it.

I lead Merlin across the meadow, throwing him little smiles as I look over my shoulder at him; I felt a little childish as I pulled Merlin by the hand through the grass, but I couldn’t be bothered. The way Merlin’s sapphire eyes looked at me, the way his fingers twined with mine; everything about him made me feel safe, and wanted. I had never been wanted; my father, my family, even the government, no one had wanted me-not the way I was. But for Merlin, he seemed to love me just for exactly who I was; and now, he was special too, Merlin had magic. He was a wonderful surprise, one I had no idea how I had stumbled upon. 

We were steadily climbing an incline, that much was obvious as we made our way to the edge of the meadow; there was another line of trees, but there was a loud sound of rushing water somewhere beyond that. I trudged through the low hanging branches, making sure to keep hold of Merlin’s hand this time because I could tell that he had been uncomfortable when we’d been separated before. 

“Think it’s the same river?” I whisper over my shoulder as we make our way through the darkness. 

“No,” his voice is strong, just like I know he is. And I need that right now, because the ground turns rocky and the tree roots trip me; he catches me as a rock tries to bring me tumbling down. “The river before was so calm; I suspect this might be something bigger.”

When I squeak and fall again, though thanks to Merlin I barely touch the ground before I’m scooped up again, Merlin takes the lead again. I follow him as we climb up a particularly craggy hill section; we walk together to prevent any more falls. The trees spread out again, but they become thicker around. The rocks and tree roots seem to form their own set of stairs at some point; we continue to climb until the sound of rushing water drowns out all else. 

Mist fills the air, making my clothes damp and clingy. “We must be close,” I murmur. Merlin’s silhouette is all I can make out even though he’s still holding my hand; perhaps the mist is thicker than I originally thought. 

I keep moving forward; upwards actually, until suddenly Merlin’s other arm reaches out to draw me backwards. I gasp, my feet coming off the ground as Merlin’s arms wrap around my waist securely. “Merlin?” I gasp, confused. 

Merlin doesn’t respond, but he carries me as he jogs quickly in an undefined direction; soon enough though, the misty fog is clearing because Merlin has carried us above the cloud of moisture. He places me carefully on my feet so I can feel him behind me as he wraps his arms around me; together, though Merlin’s leading, we lean over a jagged ledge to see the dark waters of the waterfall beneath us. All I could see was black waters and white foam churning together, but I could hear the crashing of the water on rocks far below. 

“Sorry for grabbing you,” Merlin breathed into my ear as we watched the waters. “I can’t explain how, but I just knew that you were too close to the edge. In all that mist, I didn’t want to risk you like that.”

I hum in agreement as I draw his arms closer around me. “We must be getting pretty far away from Camelot now,” I whisper. When I don’t get a response I remember that Merlin hadn’t been at the compound as long as I had been. “Camelot’s the name of the village the compound’s by. We must have gone in the opposite direction.” 

“That’s good, I guess.” Merlin’s soft lips find my pulse point and send my heart racing. “We should keep going; the sun’s bound to come up soon and we need to find somewhere to spend the day.”

Merlin takes a few steps back from the edge, pulling me with him; I laugh as he spins us around above the waterfall; we’re standing on a flat rock shelf that hangs over the top of the waterfall, so Merlin took advantage. I was smiling and laughing, reveling in the warmth of Merlin’s chest pressed against my back, until there was a noise; Merlin moved so quickly that I didn’t even feel the cold of the mist as he darted into the trees again, pushing me behind him as he looked around the trunk to find the source of the sound. 

“What was that?” I breathe as try to peer over Merlin’s shoulder. 

Merlin shushes me and puts his arm out to keep me behind him. I hear more rustling, but I cannot see anything from behind Merlin. Everything is sickly quiet except for that rustling, and I can count my breaths as it drags on. And then comes a new sound, a sound that makes my skin crawl and my blood freeze; it’s the voice of a man.

“Are you sure you saw them?” His voice is older, but not as wizened as Gaius’s had been. 

Merlin’s body is so tense it feels like stone when I press myself into his back; we both listen as there’s more rustling and another voice, this time a young woman. “My vision wasn’t clear, but that could have been because of the mist.” 

“I don’t see any sign of them,” the man huffed; he seemed out of breath. “Are you sure it wasn’t another waterfall?”

There was soft laughter. “Not one that’s anywhere near those Moondaisies,” she snorted. “And those were crystal clear.”

Merlin leaned a little further around the tree trunk. “They must be hiding around here somewhere,” the woman’s voice grew in strength. “They must think we’re with those tossers who locked them up at that… What do they call it?”

The man responded in kind. “”The Compound.” 

With one final peek around the tree, I heard Merlin gasp softly. He turned around in my arms, a wide-eyed look on his face. I opened my mouth to ask, but nothing came out; instead Merlin grabbed my hand and yanked me out into the open space. 

I stand, my mouth open in awe as I take in the sight before me; the man is old enough to be my father, but with a shaggy mane of light brown hair, and the girl can’t be more than twenty or so with a raven braid that fell down to her waist. They both would have appeared normal if it weren’t for their strange attire; they were wearing long gray cloaks and hoods over casual clothes-jeans and t-shirts. I stood glued to the spot while Merlin’s hand slipped from mine as he stepped towards them. 

“Mithian?” Merlin’s voice was full of hushed awe. 

The girl chuckled and lifted her hood with a wicked smile. “Told you I would see you again little cousin.” 

My mouth formed a new shape, a perfect O, but I felt as if my limbs were stuck; Merlin, however, was laughing and smiling like a fool. “Dears gods, so it’s all true?” He asked as he stared at the girl. She nodded, her smile turning into a smirk. 

“Who is this?” She asked, her eyes falling on me. I suddenly felt exposed.

Merlin’s eyes and focus returned solely to me however, and my body returns to a state of calm; I move forward to stand at his shoulder. He smiles and speaks without returning his gaze to Mithian. “This is Arthur; Arthur, my cousin Mithian.” I glance past Merlin’s starry blue eyes to make contact with Mithian’s chocolate brown gaze, but quickly returned to Merlin’s attention. 

“Seems kind of skittish,” she snickers. Merlin threw her a look, and I swear I heard a growl rumble through his chest. “Sorry, didn’t mean to be rude.”

“Yes, well,” the older man cleared his throat. “This little family reunion is just thrilling, but I’m afraid that we need to hurry back.”

Merlin’s arm came around my waist and drew me closer; I could sense his tension, but it made me feel safer. “Where do you want us to go? Are you going to help us? You know about the compound, does that mean you can keep us out of there? We don’t want to go back there.” Merlin’s voice was tight. 

“Merlin,” Mithian’s voice brought Merlin’s attention back to her. “We’ll explain when we get there, but for now you need to trust us.” 

Merlin turned to me. He leaned forward to press his forehead to mine; he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “What do you think?” He whispered so only I could hear. 

I smile, because he needs me just as much as I need him. “They’re dressed kind of weird, but they seem nice enough.” He chuckles and presses a kiss to my lips; it’s sweet, tender, and far too short. 

Then he turns back to Mithian. “We’ll go with you,” Mithian’s smile returned. “We expect answers when we get to wherever you’re taking us.” 

“Fine,” Mithian sighed. “Are you going to cling to that poor boy the whole journey? I don’t know how you both stand it.” She raised her hood scoffing. 

“You don’t need to understand,” my voice was strong and calm, and foreign to my own ears. 

Mithian’s dark eyes found mine, and this time I stared into them. “He speaks,” she says coolly. “I thought all Omegas only spoke when spoken to.” 

Merlin’s eyes narrowed, but Mithian was already turning back to her companion. “Lead the way,” she commanded. Merlin and I stepped closer as the older man turned back toward the forest. “Best keep up boys,” Mithian’s voice in my ears was cold. “Wouldn’t want to get lost where we’re going.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Mithian is here in name, but she's going to be a very interesting character. Merlin and Arthur are heading into a new world, so hold onto your hats ladies and gentlemen.


	20. Where there is Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another little jump back to the compound. Hope you guys like it. I had a horrible day, so this was my go to relaxation-I wrote this all for you today.

“Did we have an appointment Mr. Pendragon?” The physician had just reentered his office after making his medical rounds, only to find the petulant man sitting in front of his desk with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. 

“No,” he snaps icily. “I’ve decided to stay a few days in the hopes that your staff will locate my son.” He shifts uncomfortably on the plastic chair as the physician takes a seat on the opposite side of desk and begins shuffling files. 

“Ah, yes,” Gaius says thoughtful as he avoids looking into those cold gray eyes. “I believe the other boy's mother has decided on a similar course of action.”

“Yes, well, I suppose she doesn’t have anything better to do with her time,” Uther scoffs with an air of righteousness. “Have there been any developments?”

Gaius takes a deep breath before picking out a white file folder from the mess on his desk and opening it. “The staff have alerted the local media, been canvasing Camelot and focusing on youth hostels and shelters.” He closed the file and put it back on his desk. 

Uther sighed irritably. “That’s all well and good, but we both know that if my son isn’t found within the next twenty-four hours that the chance of him being re-contained falls drastically, and the risk of him becoming pregnant increases.”

Gaius merely hums in response, which does not sit well with Uther. “As a major donor to the containment legislature campaign and a financial supporter of this particular compound, I think that maybe I should arrange for a little extra support for the team in charge of finding my son.”

Gaius’s eyes widened. “Sir, that seems highly inappropriate given the personal nature of the situation; would you make that sort of contribution for any other missing patient at this facility or any other?” 

Uther huffed and shifted in his chair. “Now you know I would not Gaius, but this is no ordinary situation. I’m in a very precarious position right now; Morgana is doing so well in school and Ygraine and I are on the edge of being in the good graces of the Royal family. If it were to get out that I had an illegitimate son who was an Omega, and that God-forbid, he was pregnant, I would lose everything and so would my family.”

Gaius, though he was supposed to remain a neutral party, could not keep his mouth shut any longer. “Arthur is your family as well Sir,” Uther’s eyes narrowed as he glared at the old physician. 

Uther bristled under the scrutiny of the doctor. “I want him back here, sans pregnancies, and that’s final. Now, how can I expedite the process, because I know that you want to help me achieve my goal?” 

Gaius sighed; Uther was not the kind of man to accept the facts, he was the kind to throw money at problem in order to make the problem disappear. “If you wish to aid in the efforts you can use your presence in town to draw more attention to the matter,” Gaius cleared his desk of files, placing them in a drawer before picking up an electronic tablet. “It appears that we’ll need to wrap this up shortly I’m needed by one of the Omegas that’s still in medical quarantine.”

Uther’s face reddened; he would not be broadcasting the fact that his son was amongst those who were missing from the local containment compound, and Gaius knew that. Uther was beginning to move beyond disgruntled into a very angry state; he stood up, knowing that he was being edged out of the office. “You know very well that I will not be doing that,” Uther said gruffly. “I will contact you further sometime this evening; I will email you, and you will accept what I have to offer, at that will be the end of this discussion.” 

Before Gaius could respond, Uther was stepping out the door of the office; there was a grumbled “good evening” and the door closed behind his stiff form. Gaius sighed heavily, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his tired eyes. The compound gave him the opportunity to help the Alphas and Omegas that found themselves here, but lately the hours had been wearing him thin. Now, with Merlin and Arthur’s escape, he hadn’t been to his Camelot apartment in more than five days; he was exhausted, but determined to keep both the boys as well his other patients his main priority. 

There was a chime from his tablet, and Gaius was reminded that he had another patient to attend to; he picked up the tablet, slipped it into his lab coat’s pocket and exited the office. He hurried along the white-walled hallways and down a flight of stairs until he entered the Omega’s Heat Ward. He stopped in front of one of the doors along the hallway, pulled out the tablet to check that he had the correct room, and then entered his access code into the electronic lock pad. 

“Hello William,” he said calmly as he entered the small room. His patient was sitting on his bed, cross-legged and crossed arms. “I’ve just received the results of your latest tests back; how are you feeling?”

The boy seemed drained, his skin was pale with dark circles under his eyes and his hair is oily; William has been in holding for almost three weeks now, he was brought into the ward when he started showing signs of his heat coming on. However, William’s maturity was erratic and he kept going in and out of heat with intense bouts of heat sickness in between; last week the boy had gone into full heat, had spent five days in restrains and on an IV, and now he was inn recovery. It was one of the longest and most draining first heat that the doctor had witnessed; the boy had only started to eat solid food again this morning. 

“I’m nauseous, been that way all day.” His head is hung down as his shoulders shift and he clutches at his midsection. 

“It will take some time for your stomach to get used to food again,” the physician sat down on a stool near the boy’s bed. “Your body needs to recoup, after all it did expect to be pregnant by now.”

The boy groaned and threw his head back irritably. “Is it going to be like this every time I have a heat? I don’t think I can stand it, just let me kill myself.” His voice was so full of despair and agony, the physician made a mental note to put it on his chart. 

“Things will be easier next time,” Gaius said smoothly. “However, it will be hard to determine when your next heat will be; I can assure you that it will not last nearly as long as it did this time. But don’t worry; as long as you’re here I’ll make sure that you receive the very best care.”

He hoped that it would sooth William, but the boy gave him a piercing stare. “You call it caring for me when a squad of guards is sent to drag me out of the dormitory? Now I know what you do to the Omegas in your care, and if I ever get released I’ll tell the world what you’ve done.”

Gaius sighed. “William, I know it seems a little drastic, but you must remember that we do not want you to have to go through any pregnancies before you make a willing choice to do so. In time, and after more of the hormones dissipate from your blood stream, I hope that you see that I am trying to help you.”

The boy snarled, but with his diminished strength he merely glared at the physician. “What did my tests say?”

“You’re progressing well, your heat has subsided and your body is regaining its equilibrium; once you’re strong enough and the hormone levels in your blood have dropped a bit more we can move you back into the general population again.” The boy gave an exasperated sigh. “Just try to relax William; it should only be a few more days.”

“Can you at least tell me why I was whisked out of my room a few nights ago while in my restraints?” The boy’s voice was rising defiantly. “Or would you rather explain to me why the guards have been doing double bed checks these past couple of nights?”

Gaius stood up, sensing the boy was becoming aggressive due to his exhaustion; he didn’t want the boy to waste his energy on things that were out of his control anyway.  
“Nothing to concern yourself about,” he said as he walked towards the door. 

“I bet it was Arthur,” the boy growled at the physician’s back. 

As the steel door slid open, Gaius turned back to see the boy’s small form as he sat on the bed. “Get some rest William.” And with that, he stepped outside and the door closed behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We found Will!! Now, what will happen next?


	21. The gateway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Our boys head into a new world... so exciting. Merlin's perspective

We walked through more of the forest, so much so that I could have sworn we were going around and around in circles; but as long as I had Arthur’s hand in mine, I knew that things would be alright. We followed Mithian and her companion as they lead us further up what I now could tell was a small mountain. I hadn’t seen my cousin Mithian since before my father had left my mother and I; her family and ours had been close, which made their disappearance all the more strange. My mother had told me legends about that side of our family; she said that there was still a large number of our family that still held the beliefs of an ancient religion, and that they had gone into hiding to avoid prejudice. Now, here was my cousin, in a strange outfit, but offering assistance at just the moment Arthur and I needed it most. 

“We’re almost to the gateway,” Mithian called over her shoulder; it was a good thing, the sky was starting to lighten into a murky gray. “Hope you’re ready to meet some more family Merlin.” 

I felt my fingers tighten around Arthur’s, my nerves starting to show. “The more you talk, the less I understand.” I grumbled. 

We came to an abrupt stop when the older man lead us up to a sheer rock cliff face etched with an archway of strange markings. “We’re here,” the man said as he stepped toward the center of the archway. 

Mithian turned to Arthur and me and lifted her hood. “Okay boys, here is where we separate.” Her smile was devious. 

I felt Arthur press up against my side, his hand gripping tighter as well; I didn’t like the way Mithian was acting either, and the way she was talking now only made me more uneasy. “What do you mean Mithian, and make it quick or we’ll reconsider coming with you and turn around right now.”

Mithian sighed and placed her hands on her slender hips, her eyes rolled annoyed. “Honestly Merlin,” she said as she took a step closer to us. “If you’re going to be this suspicious of everything I say then this is going to get old very fast.” 

Arthur hummed, but didn’t say anything as he drew my arm around his waist so he could press even closer into my side; it was unspoken, but we didn’t care about her cajole. “We’re not splitting up Mithian, and if that’s what you’re implying then Arthur and I should just get going. But don’t worry, we won’t be rude; thanks for getting us this far.”

I’m about to turn and walk away, taking Arthur with me, when Mithian’s fierce giggling stopped me as well as the way her figure deflated. “Merlin, come now, I meant nothing of the sort. See, George here is going to open the gateway with a little incantation and a blood sacrifice, but then we each have to step through…On our own…no holding hands. That’s all I meant.”

Arthur huffed by my ear and I chuckled in response. “I hope it won’t take too long,” I murmur slightly whiny. 

Mithian chirped another giggle. “Because of your rut, Merlin? Or because of his heat?” She grinned, hands still on her hips as she sauntered over to us; behind her, I could hear George muttering his incantation with his face bathed in moonlight. 

I sigh, defeated and tired of her games; Mithian obviously had the upper hand here, she just liked toying with us. “Arthur’s heat subsided a day ago; it’s my rut, as long as I stay in contact with him it seems to be alright, but I start to feel uneasy and unstable mentally.” I squeeze Arthur’s hip where my hand is resting and he smiles. 

Mithian makes a face somewhere between disgusted and disgruntled. “You two are going to be difficult to live with, aren’t you?” She said exasperatedly. “The gateway is simply a way in between; we’ve had to find ways to protect our home, so we needed safer ways in and out. You’ll step through it just as you would any other door, not even a second will pass before you’re back together.”

“Mithian,” George called from the arch. Mithian turned around and jogged over to where George was standing. I watched for a moment, suddenly aware of a faint glow coming from the symbols carved into the face of the cliff. 

“I don’t like this,” I whispered as I stood there with Arthur at my side. My muscles were tense as I held him close to me; there was a fear, one that frightened me just by existing, that I might lose Arthur. 

“I mean, she’s your cousin, right?” Arthur presses his nose into my neck, trying to sooth my anxiety. “I think we can trust her for now; although, she seems kind of intense, are you sure she’s related to you?”

I chuckle and turn to press a kiss to his cheek. “My mom’s Uncle’s daughter’s daughter, or something like that. I knew her when we were really young; I haven’t seen her in years.”

Arthur hummed against my neck and I felt my knees weaken. “God, I’m glad you’re here with me.” I murmur. 

There’s a sudden shift in the air and we look back to see the surface of the cliff; where there had been rock, now, in the space within the arch was shimmering and translucent. Mithian turned back to us with a smile. “It’s now or never boys; guests first.” She reached out an arm to usher us forward. With George on our left and Mithian on our right, Arthur and I approached what used to be a rock. 

“Okay,” Mithian’s smirk was clear in her voice. “Who’s going to go through first?”

I turn my head to Arthur, his clear blue eyes that remind me of a winter sky; he makes me feel stronger than I thought I ever could be. “I’ll go,” I say quietly. “I’ll see you soon,” I whisper and give his hand a squeeze before I let go and step through the gateway. 

It feels like falling through a thin sheet of ice into a cold lake; however, as soon as I felt the chill, there was bright sunlight to warm my face. I closed my eyes against the harsh light and took in the fresh air that smelled drastically different than the air from the forest; as I cracked open my eyes I realized that I was at the foot of a hill, looking out into a valley. I heard a gasp from a few inches to my left and I looked to see Arthur standing there, his eyes closed and his body trembling. 

I wrap him in a tight hug, breathing in his healthy scent; the air around us is filled with the sound of birds chirping and bees buzzing, and when Arthur’s adjusted to the new warmth around us his arms come around me to return the hug. “Where are we?” He whispers into my ear. “It doesn’t feel like Camelot; do you think we’re in a different country?” 

“Don’t be silly,” Mithian’s quick to respond as she steps into the sunlight. “We’re still in the country,” she sighs dramatically. “This is a magical place, the elders say that it was called the Valley of the Fallen Kings, but we call it Albion.” 

I look over at her, just as George is walking through the invisible gateway into the light. Both of them remove their cloaks and sling them over their arms, then they share a smile; it’s the first happy smile that I’ve seen on Mithian’s face. “Its winter,” I say dumbly as I continue to hold Arthur, but relax my grip a bit. “Or, at the very least, almost winter; how is it that it feels like spring here?”

Mithian looks at me, her eyes twinkling. “I think you know the answer to Merlin.” She looks so much happier in the sunlight and without her heavy gray cloak. “We need to head into town; the elders will want to talk to you.”

Arthur turns to look at her, his eyes wide and curious. “Can I come too?” He asks timidly. 

Mithian smiles and her cheeks pink up a bit. “Of course, wouldn’t want to separate you two for too long anyway, what with Merlin in rut.” Then she mock whispers to me, with a grin on her face. “I think I’m starting to see what you love about him Merlin; in this light, he’s ravishing.”

Arthur buried his face in my neck and I could feel his face heating up. I laugh and rub his back, and then Mithian giggles merrily. “Come on, still a little more walking left to do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... tell me what you think, how you feel, and feel free to guess what might happen next.


	22. Getting to know you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From Arthur's POV, we get to know a little more about Albion and Mithian

I didn’t like Mithian, and that was before she made Merlin and I separate before walking through the gateway; but she just didn’t rub me right. Merlin had gone through the gateway and I had wanted to follow right behind him, but Mithian had held me back. Her hand was like a brand on my elbow, and her eyes were shining when I turned to look at her in shock. “Careful Arthur, you wouldn’t want to move too quickly would you?” She had leaned in to whisper in my ear. “My cousin doesn’t seem to know who your father is, but I do; watch your step Pendragon.” And just like that, her smile was back and her hand was gone. With a stern nod from her, I took a step through the archway. 

Now, she seemed like a completely different as she bounced down the green hillside in front of us; Merlin held my hand and lead me down the steeper parts carefully. The fellow, George, remained just as quiet as he had before, which was unnerving. We were trundling down the hill to where a stream gurgled as it ran along the foothills. 

“Careful,” Merlin chuckled as I fumbled over a loose rock and fell into his arms from about a foot above him. I giggle as he lifts me off my feet and lifts me in his arms to put me down on solid ground again. 

We make it to the stream in no time at all; the spring air feels cooler as we approach the water; I am suddenly very aware of my dirty clothes and the fact that I haven’t showered in several days. I work up my courage before I call out to Mithian, who’s already half-way across the rocks that’s bouncing over to get to the other side. “Can we stop to cool off a bit; just for a minute, please?” Merlin’s hand squeezes mine as I lead the way to the water’s pebbly shore. 

Mithian’s smile falters a little as she looked over her shoulder at us; George was already waiting impatiently on the opposite shore. “Fine,” she conceded as she leaped to the next rock and bounced onto the shore of the stream. “You guys reek anyway, maybe this will help.” She unfurled her cloak in a flourish and laid it out on the grassy shoreline. 

While Mithian took to lying down on her cloak and George paced back and forth, Merlin and I stepped into the cool water. The current was gentle, but the stream was rocky so we stumbled and fumbled until we were in the middle of the stream and the water is up to the middle of our thighs. I giggle as I slip on a rock underfoot and wind up landing on my butt, the water coming up to my chest with a huge splash. Merlin stood, doubled over with his hands on his knees, laughing at me; so, I retaliated by dragging an arm through the water to splash him in the face. 

We spend a few minutes splashing each other with the fresh, clear, cool water until we’re both drenched from head to toe; we make our way to the other bank when we’re refreshed. Mithian was still lying about in the sun, but George had taken to sitting on one of the lone rocks that seemed to have escaped the rocky shore. 

“Are you ready now boys?” Mithian sighed, her arms pillowed behind her head and her eyes closed against the sunlight. 

Merlin and I are all giggles and water droplets, some of which get thrown over Mithian in Merlin’s attempt to tickle my sides mercilessly. “Okay,” she groans as she rolls away from us and onto her hands and knees. “Let’s get moving before your sickening sweetness makes me want to puke all over you.” And in a moment she was up and collecting her cloak from the ground. 

Mithian and George took the lead again as we walked along a little footpath that edged along some farm fields; I could hear them, they were talking about something, but I couldn’t make out any distinct words. Not to mention, Merlin’s arm around my waist and his hand on my hip while we walked along a few feet behind them, did a lot to distract me. I couldn’t even tell you how long or how far we walked before we came upon a well-worn dirt road that Mithian seemed to know. 

Mithian fell back enough to speak to Merlin and I while George trudged solemnly ahead. “So, we should be able to catch a ride along this road; there are always plenty of farm trucks going into town from here, so it’s just a matter of time.” 

“This place seems pretty secluded,” Merlin remarks; I look at him, our clothes have begun to dry in the spring sun and his hair is curling around his ears. In this light, and as we walk, his hair almost takes on a blueish undertone; he reminds me of things of legend, like mermaids and unicorns. 

Mithian’s mouth quirks up at the corners, but she tries to contain herself. “Yes,” she says stoically. “It’s protected by powerful and ancient magics. It’s extremely hard to find its secret entrances if you aren’t traveling with one of the Guides; that’s why we have George, and also why he’s a bit grumpy that he has to tag along with use.” 

The three of us continue our walk along the side of the road; I’m hesitant to speak directly to Mithian after our little confrontation before we entered the valley. Thankfully Merlin had plenty to talk to his cousin about. “So the last time I saw you we were both very young; we lived next door to each other, but then your family moved away-at least that’s what mother told me.”

Mithian’s eyes grew stormy. “We were being hunted; at least that’s what father told me. We left, moved around a lot; sometimes we rented houses, other times it was motel rooms or hostels, the worst was when we lived on the streets for a few weeks.”

“Oh my gods,” Merlin gasped, irritably. “Mithian, what happened? What about your younger sister and brother? Your mother must have been furious; she was always so refined as I remember.”

Mithian’s eyes turned stony as her mouth turned into a firm line. “Mother left us about a year after we moved Merlin; she couldn’t stand the thought of raising Omega and Alpha children, so she returned to her refinery. I’m an Alpha, my sister and brother are both Omegas; father has magic, and a big heart, which is equally as abominable.”

“At least one of your parents wanted you,” I can’t help the sound of my voice as I murmur my sorrows into Merlin’s ear. 

Mithian looks over at me, as if she had heard, and I ducked my head to avoid her gaze. “Yes, well,” she began again. “We were found by one of the guides a few years ago; they brought us back here and we’ve been able to settle in quite nicely.” Her response is clearly clipped, as if she doesn’t want to get into the details right now. 

There’s a loud holler from in front of us and we all look up to see George rushing over to a farm truck that’s pulling to the edge of one of the nearest fields; he seems to have gotten the driver’s attention, we continue our slow pace until George waves at us to join him. We all break into a jog. When we reach the truck a few seconds later George is already undoing the back hatch of the truck. He gave each of us a hand up into the bed of the truck before closing up the back of the truck and climbing into the cab-to direct the driver. 

We all sat cross-legged in the truck bed as it bumped along the dirt road. “So, Merlin,” Mithian said slyly. “Tell me about you and lover boy here.”

I blushed and hung my head into my hands. Merlin chuckled and rubbed my back. “I ended up in a containment compound; mom came down with a terrible flu or something, and apparently my Alpha instincts took over and were a little bit obvious. Long story made a little shorter, I wound up in the room next door to Arthur; he was in such a state, what with his heat and being treated like a madman, and I knew that my life was never going to be the same after that. We were both screwed, so I decided to get us the hell out of there.”

Mithian stared at her cousin, her expression blank for a moment. “I can’t wait for the Elders to meet you both,” she said flatly. “They’re going to find you just as fascinating as I do.” I couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic, but it didn’t matter because she just kept on going. “And your mother never told you that you were an Alpha, or that you might be magical?”

Merlin was playing with the hem on the back of my shirt, his fingers grazing the skin of my lower back, and I could feel a surge of warm shivers run through my muscles there. “No,” he said calmly. “But if your father was right, that we’re being hunted, then I think maybe she was doing it to protect me.”

Mithian’s head bobbed in a nod, even more than the bumping of the truck along the road. “She always wanted to keep you safe, and I know she and my father had a fight right around the time that we moved.” 

I couldn’t help my face as I watched the scenery around the truck change from farmland to a small, not quite urban, town began to grow around us. “Something wrong sweet-cheeks?” Mithian chirped evilly. I ducked my head again as I blushed profusely again. 

Merlin’s entire hand found its way onto the skin of my lower back, which did nothing to steady my heart. Mithian looked over the side of the truck bed herself. “Oh, we’re getting close now.”

A few minutes of silence and the truck is coming to a halt in front of a huge marble dome with archways and pillars surrounding it. George hops out the cab and comes to open the truck bed for us. Merlin leaps out and instantly lends me his hand to help me down while Mithian is helped by George. “Thank you George, you are officially done babysitting a bunch of bratty teenagers.” Mithian smiles and gives George a handshake; for the first time George smiles and even chuckles, but soon he’s turning and walking away down the street. 

Mithian turns back to us, and then turns to the marble building. “Well, boys, this is it. This is the Hall of Elders.” She turns back to us, a wicked grin twisting her lips. “Now, just go in there and talk to the nice people.”

My mouth opened, but Merlin was the one speaking. “You’re not coming in with us?” 

Mithian shook her head, still grinning. “I’ll be waiting out here when you’re done. You’ll be staying at my house, so once you’re done I’ll take you to the house.” When neither of us made to move she tilted her chin to the building. “Go on; don’t want to keep them waiting.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? Mithian's still a little bit misunderstood, Arthur is "an adorable cinnamon roll", Merlin is still in rut, but its getting better. And well, George is just George. Leave me love and ideas and everything under the sun.


	23. Further the better

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had trouble deciding which perspective this chapter needed to be in, but once that was settled I churned out this lovely chapter in a little over an hour-I feel so inspired by all the positive feedback that you leave me here. I hope you enjoy. We're back at the compound for this chapter.

It was late, or perhaps early, depending on your state of mind; the physician had spent the last twenty or so hours juggling the constant care of both his Alpha as well as Omega patients alongside maintaining his position as logistical supervisor in charge of the search for the two missing patients. He was slumped over his desk, files and papers strewn about, his eyes having fallen shut who-knows-how-long ago, and there was a droplet of saliva threatening to leak out of the corner of his mouth. It was close to midnight once more, and he really should have been home, or at least in the break room; instead, he had attempted to input more of his data that he had collected to map the hormonal changes of his patients. 

It was the sound of an email being delivered that woke him; he jolted in his seat, and thankfully did not fall. He rubbed his sleep bleary eyes, still exhausted, and abandoned his desk in order to fetch himself some strong coffee from down the hall. Typically he frowned at the use of such things as coffee to prolong the body’s need for sleep, but he was desperate and needed to find a way to keep all of his patients safe-even if they were no longer within the walls of the compound. 

When he returned a few minutes later with a huge steaming cup of coffee in his hands, he sat down to turn his attention back to his work; it was the notification of the email that reminded him that he needed to check that before doing more data entry. He clicked on the icon and brought up the email server for the compound only to find an email from Uther Pendragon. 

He sipped his coffee before clicking on the email, knowing that no matter what was within its contents that he would have to suffer through it and hope that he had bought enough time for Merlin and Arthur to put as much distance between them and the compound. 

The email read as follows: 

Gaius,

The time has now come for me to take action. You have had three days to locate my son and bring him back to the compound, but you have not succeeded. I understand that you take your work very seriously, but this is no ordinary medical case; I have already gone over the many reasons I cannot allow my son to wander about getting into trouble. Therefore, even though you feel that it is unnecessary, I have decided to higher on private security agents that will focus solely on finding my son. They have already been given duplicate copies of all of his records, so there is no need for them to contact you until they have found him. I think this is a reasonable solution, seeing as it avoids the drama of special treatment within the compound; I will be funding this team of agents, they will only be concerned with Arthur’s location and well-being, not the other boy. I hope to hear good news from both you as well, for when the team has Arthur they have strict instructions to return him to your facility; I hope that when this happens you will be able to   
handle any medical treatments that might be necessary. 

I care very little with what happens to the other boy, especially because I hope that they are not together; as far as I am concerned, Gaius, you should feel as if a burden has been lifted from your shoulders. Maybe you can finally get some well-deserved rest. You seemed to be a bit emotional the last time we spoke. 

Which reminds me; I will be returning to London in the morning, so if you wish to speak with me it will either have to be by telephone or via email. And please do not bother me unless you have Arthur, for I have some very important functions to attend and it would only cause irritation. I’ll try to be available for Arthur’s return to the compound, but if   
not, I’ll send some instructions. 

Regards,

Uther Pendragon

After reading the email twice, and drinking half of his coffee, the physician sighed and went back to his data. Uther Pendragon was a force that would not be stopped, which meant that the team he had hired to collect his son was probably as ruthless as he; his heart dropped at the idea of poor Arthur being found somewhere by a band of horribly neglectful humans. But, there was still hope; he knew that Merlin would never have left Arthur, which meant that Arthur was not alone, and that Merlin would be able to give the poor boy a bit of common sense. 

He was just finishing his data input when he noticed a trend in one of the patient’s hormone levels; he double checked the medical ID and found the corresponding file. It was William; his levels had all leveled out and had been steady for the last day. He took the file and immediately left the office; good news was few and far between, which meant he wanted to deliver it before something awful turned the tide. 

William was not as asleep as the physician had first thought upon opening the door to his room; yea, his eyes were bleary, but his color was back and he was awake within a few moments. “I am glad to see you feeling better William,” he said cheerily, if somewhat tiredly. 

The boy blinked through his sleep and into the bright florescent white of the light as it was flipped on. “I feel much better,” he said meekly. He had realized, as the hormones had started to fade, just how ridiculous he sounded the last time he had spoken to the doctor. “Thank you Gaius,” he said as he looked up at the doctor from his bed. 

“I think it’s about time you be moved back into the populous,” the doctor said softly. “Would you like to see your friends? I can arrange for your transfer to happen right now, if you like.”

William nodded silently. Gaius smiled before he jotted down some information in his file. “Alright, well, I know you don’t have anything here,” his voice was a bit strained as he noticed the bareness of the room. “So why don’t I escort you to the new Omega ward that you’ll be staying in?”

William smiled sleepily as he slide out of the small bed and pulled on his white shoes. When he was ready Gaius put a hand on his shoulder and together they exited the room. The ward for Omegas Post-Heat was at the opposite end of the compound from where the other Omegas were housed; they walked along halls and avoided areas where Alpha patients were housed, until they eventually came to a pair of steel double doors. 

Gaius entered the passcode into the panel and once the doors were open he walked William inside; there were very few guards working as it was the middle of the night, but Gaius walked William over to the main desk where a woman was sitting. Gaius filled out the paperwork and the guard seemed to accept it, albeit she seemed irritated that she had to actually do something this late at night. She led the way into the male Omega dormitory; unlike before, this one housed Omegas within a wide range of ages, so more beds were occupied. The guard made a motion for them to remain quiet before they entered, the led them through the dark room to an empty bed. 

Gaius waited to make sure that William was settled in bed; it didn’t take long before the boy was drifting off to sleep. When he was certain that everything would be alright he quietly exited the room and returned to the guard post. 

“Thanks for doing this; I know that it’s late.” He said to her; now that it was just them, her expression had softened quite a bit. 

She waved a hand through the air absently. “Not a problem,” she said casually. “I’ve heard rumblings from the others about him; he’s been gone a while, they think you did something to him.”

Gaius chuckled, because what could he say to that; he had merely been trying to save the boy’s life. “I just hope he can handle the transition; he’s been through a lot.”

“The older ones won’t care; you know that. It’s the younger ones, his peers, that will want to know where he stands now.” She had worked the Omega Post-Heat Ward for the past six months. 

“I’ll check in on him soon,” the physician says grimly. “Just keep an eye on him.” 

The guard nods and they say good night before the doctor begins his long walk back to his office. Tomorrow he might actually make it back to his apartment; he has plans to meet with Hunith for tea in the village to give her an update on Merlin and Arthur. He just had to make it through the next ten hours. He trudged through the different wards that he cared for, each one more daunting and excruciating to think about. At least Merlin and Arthur were no longer here; he knew how Uther was, and what his plans had been for his only son. The thought of Uther’s determination to control Arthur was sickening; performing a hysterectomy on a patient so young was not the problem-the law had seen to that-but the fact that Uther was going to force it upon Arthur was another matter altogether. And there was no law preventing such an act, no law protecting Arthur from the people that were thought to have his best interests at heart; no, Uther was abusing his power of guardianship, and the further Arthur was from him, the better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gaius, what a wonderful and brave man, but he doesn't know that Merlin and Arthur as safe... I know, I know, but he's working hard.


	24. The Elders

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was half asleep while writing most of this and suffering from California heat the other part, so please give me some feedback... I sometimes think that it could be better. Merlin's POV

I took Arthur’s hand in mine, his warm fingers sending tingles all over my body; I could feel my desires coiled in the pit of my stomach like a cat that’s found a patch of sun to sit within. I knew what my body wanted, what it had wanted for the past two days; but Arthur was just as confused and scared as I was, so I put my desires aside. Instead, I began walking with him; we left my cousin behind, and to be honest, I was relieved. I could tell that Arthur was unsure of her; he clung to me, which helped keep my desires from burning me to cinders, but made it clear that he felt safe only by my side. 

“Do you think they’ll help us?” Arthur asked worriedly as he ran his thumb over my knuckles; we were walking down a central garden with a white pathway that cut up the center to the stairs that would lead into the Hall of Elders. 

I hum, trying to stop the thoughts that kept telling me to find a secluded space to whisk Arthur. “I think if they sent Mithian to welcome us, there’s a good chance that they won’t send us back out there.” I swear I can feel Arthur’s pulse race just through my hand; I want to make it do that more, want to kiss his neck and feel that pulse race under my mouth. 

“You don’t think…” Arthur halts for a moment, a concerned look on his face when I turn to him. “They wouldn’t, I don’t know, lock us up here?”

And then my desires are inferior, because I see that flicker of fear that I can see travel from Arthur’s beautiful blue eyes all the way to his stomach. All that matters in this moment is taking care of him, because he’s more important than wanting to feel his skin pressed to mine. “Oh, Arthur,” I murmur as I wrap my arms around him. I shush him softly as I hold him close; over his shoulder I can see Mithian loitering where we left her at the curb, and I suddenly wish we were far away from her prying eyes. This is about Arthur, and she’s not allowed inside his life because he doesn’t trust her. 

“Come on,” I whisper in his ear as I pull him towards the intimidating white building; we continue walking, my arm wrapped protectively around Arthur’s back. 

It didn’t take long for us to make it up the marble stairs to the entrance; we walked under a web of intricate arches that were woven above the tops of the pillars that were clustered around the building, until we came to stand under the marble arch that held an actual door. I squeezed Arthur’s hand as I reached for the polished brass doorknob set within the rosewood; I ushered him inside the dark foyer, away from the bright sunlight and the eyes of Mithian. 

The door shuts behind us with a quiet thud that echoes around us; I wrap around Arthur, my eyes still adjusting to the drastic change in light. I relax as I hear him purr into   
my neck, nuzzling his nose into the soft spot there, and my knees go weak. It’s his turn to whisper into my ear, his voice is hoarse. “Come on,” and he unwinds himself until we’re simply holding hands and he’s pulling me further into the darkness. 

He’s only lead me a few feet into the foyer, the darkness thick around us, when there’s the sound of a door opening and footsteps. I pull on Arthur’s hand, and we come to a halt. “Merlin Emrys,” a woman’s voice echoes through the black shadows. “Please join us.” 

“Where?” I call out, my voice sounding hallow in comparison. “I can barely see.”

“That is because you are seeing only with your eyes,” the woman’s voice is louder, harsher, and more demanding. “Search yourself for a different kind of sight.”

I pull Arthur closer, suddenly frightened by what this person was asking; perhaps Arthur was right, maybe these Elders wanted something from us, or me. I took a deep breath and tried to focus; I could smell Arthur’s flora musk as he took a step closer to me, and suddenly I was back in that moment…

I was smiling at Arthur as the Moondaisies danced around us; he was smiling at me even as he watched the purple flowers glowed, throwing his face into a purple light. And then it wasn’t just a memory; I was seeing Arthur as if he as bathed in that same purple light, so softly that it made him look like something unreal. Arthur stood in front of me, his eyes moving to and fro, looking for me in the darkness; it was clear that Arthur couldn’t see what I was seeing. As I looked around, the ethereal purple glow flowed around the room slowly building the interior of the chamber. 

“I’ve got you,” I murmur to Arthur as I take the lead. The foyer was winged on each side by marble staircases that curled up to a second level, and underneath those staircases created the entrance to a short hallway; a tall, slender, gray-haired woman was standing under these staircases, her eyes fixed on me even as he hands were clasped gracefully in front of her long white robe. I step in front of Arthur and begin to step towards this woman. 

When I come to stop a few feet from her, our eyes locked on each other, she bows her stern face. “Welcome,” she says as she raises her face once more. “Enter, and let us begin.” She waved an arm into the darkness that was the hall behind her and in the same glowing purple light another wooden door appeared. The woman made another flourish and the door blew open with a cool gust of wind. 

I heard a sharp hiss and turned to see Arthur guarding his eyes against the sudden brightness coming from inside this new room. I shush him and sooth him, pulling him into my side as the purple glow fades away and is replaced by my normal vision; he hides his face in my shoulder and for the first time the woman seems to notice him. “Who might this be?” 

I meet her wide grey eyes, suddenly concerned that Arthur might not be welcome. “This is Arthur,” I say, prepared to defend him. 

But the woman nods and waves us both inside the larger room; I mumble into Arthur’s hair that we’re moving forward, and with him still hiding his eyes against my shoulder I step inside the brightly lit inner chamber. The woman follows behind us, makes the door vanish, and then steps in front of us. 

“Please,” she said softly. “Join us at the table.” And then she glided around the huge marble that seemed to spring forth from the center of the marble floor. 

The entire room was white marble; the table was the center feature, with huge candelabras circling and twisting in the center, various white and black candles illuminating the space as if they were solar systems. And above the table, white marble chandeliers mirrored the knots of candles and light. Around the table there were twelve white marble chairs, equally spaced, and the woman took her position at the four o’clock seat. As she took her seat regally, she gestured for Arthur and I to sit as well. 

I didn’t like that I had to sit so far away from Arthur, but I coaxed him out of his hiding with a kiss on the cheek. “Look,” I said softly. “Isn’t it so pretty?” 

He makes a sound of awe as he looked around the room at all the white fixtures, including the white marble sconces and lanterns that circled the room; the room that now, had no windows or doors, and seemed to be a perfect circle. I walked Arthur over to the five o’clock seat so that he could sit down next to me; then I sat at the six o’clock position. 

“Welcome,” the woman’s voice bellowed around the room, echoing off of the high walls. “We, Merlin Emrys, are the Elders of Albion.” There were several small gusts of wind as the other nine chairs were filled with the forms of other grey-haired men and women; I could feel the magic swirling about as they appeared. Every one of them was dressed in similar white robes, and they all appeared stern and straight-backed. 

The man that sat opposite me had sharp green eyes that stared unblinkingly at me through the gaps in the candelabra. “Hello Merlin,” his voice is soft, but powerful. “We are so very pleased that you are here.”

I glance around the table, looking at all the eyes that are on me; they all seem to be waiting for me to speak, as if they expect something profound to come out of my mouth. “You all seem to know my name already, but I know nothing about you.”

Surprisingly, the man across from me smiled; I realized that he was even grayer than the other Elders, having a clean cut beard as well. “Apologies, my name is Greggory and these are my fellow Elders; they’re the oldest of our magic practicing townsmen and women, so you will likely see them around the town as you settle in.” 

He reminded me of a grandparent, or a professor; I sought Arthur’s hand under the table. “I suppose that means that you won’t be sending us back to the containment compound?” I ask, feeling Arthur’s soft skin against my hand. 

A couple of the Elders glanced at each other, and Greggory’s expression closed off once again into the stern expression from before. “No, Merlin, we consider our town a sanctuary; many of our residence are Alphas, such as yourself, or Omegas, like your mate here.”

My jaw went numb and my lips parted in awkward shock. “Mate?” I ask hollowly. 

Greggory smiled again, but continued with what he was saying. “There are, of course, some Betas that live within Albion; we accept anyone who wishes to live outside of the laws that are set forth in the rest of the world. Here, you will be able to find a sense of peace as well as a place of belonging.”

“And we can just stay here?” I ask, confused at the sense of freedom. 

“We’ve already been informed that you have family to stay with,” Greggory said smoothly. “We know that you have magic, and that you both escaped from a compound. What we would like is for you both to rest and recoup for a bit, then if you wish you can return here and we can speak about the future.” 

I looked over at Arthur; he seemed reserved, but I could see that he was deflating with relief. Suddenly, the idea of a nice long rest seemed like heaven. I turned back to Greggory and nodded. “We appreciate this,” I say, my voice a bit thick. “Thank you.”

Greggory nods and with arms spread he stands and the rest of the Elders follow suit. “Go, rest, and when you’re ready we’ll speak again.” He says and with a grand flourish the door reappears behind me. 

I take Arthur’s hand and we stand up; I feel like I should bow or curtsy before we leave, but I can feel my own exhaustion weighing heavy on my bones. I don’t turn to leave until I meet those fierce green eyes once more, then I’m walking with Arthur through the open door and into the dark foyer. There’s a gust of wind at our back as the door vanishes again and Arthur lets out a huff as he leans against me. 

“Ready for a nice, long nap?” I mumble into his golden hair as we make our way out into the sunlight of Albion once more. I hear him laugh lightly as he nods against my shoulder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so just a warning/seeking opinions on... teen pregnancy and MPreg with this story... Thoughts?? Feelings???


	25. Totally differnt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A nice light chapter of fluffy goodness to let you see how are boys are doing with their down time. Arthur's POV. I hope you like it, leave me lots of things so I can see how you guys are feeling

With all the stress, it was no wonder why Merlin had to catch me as we finally made it back to Mithian; I crumpled against him in the warm spring sunlight as Mithian was saying something about where her father’s house was. The next time I came to, I thought maybe I had died instead of just fainted. My back was pillowed against a supremely soft mattress, surrounded by fine linens, and with light filtering through curtains so it wasn’t harsh. 

But what was better than all of that, was the warm body that was curled around me;; I was lying on my back with Merlin’s raven hair nestled under my chin, his arms wrapped around my middle and my chest his pillow. And to my immense pleasure I found that neither of us was wearing our filthy shirts, making my skin tingle even more. I smiled and tried not to move; Merlin’s soft breaths on my skin told me he was still asleep. Instead, when my eyes had adjusted, I took to staring at the porcelain skin of Merlin’s beautiful back.

From the looks of the room that we were in we had a queen size bed and all the space we could handle, including what I assumed was an attached bathroom. As I was looking around, my hand had absent-mindedly drifted to Merlin’s back to slowly stroke down his flank. And now, Merlin’s eyelashes were fluttering and his arms were tightening around my stomach. 

I smiled as he hummed against my skin, slowly waking up. “I was worried about you,” he mumbled into my stomach. “You just went limp,” his lips pressed gently to the skin under my nipple. 

“Sorry,” I say sweetly as I let my hand run up his spine and rub his neck. “I think it was all a little too much.” Merlin hummed again and I giggled, running my hand into his thick hair. 

“This feels good,” Merlin says softly, nuzzling against my bare skin. “Being able to just relax…With you.” 

I feel my face heat up as I play with his soft raven locks. I make a content sound and allow myself to sink a little deeper into the fluffiness of the mattress; Merlin shifts a bit so his grip is less around my stomach and more towards my shoulders, his hands pressing on my shoulder blades as I feel him press an open kiss to my chest. “Sorry I scared you,” I giggle as he repeats the kiss, this time finding my eyes with his through his fan of dark lashes as he looks up at me. “But I agree this is nice.”

I smile at him as his lips brush over my chest as he makes his way up to capture my lips, stretching out his body to press against me from head to toe; we fit together so snuggly, it made my heart beat louder in my ears. He kissed me slowly, moving against me so that he wasn’t crushing me as he played with my lips. I felt like I was melting inside as I opened my mouth to offer him more; I was surprised when he broke away panting a few minute later, but instantly went for my neck. 

“Merlin,” I whimpered as my hands found his waist to hold onto as he licked and sucked at my neck; I had no idea I could feel so sensitive, but then no one had ever paid this much attention to me. 

“Gods Arthur,” Merlin huffs against my collar bone as he moves back to my ear, burring his nose in my hair and making me giggle. “You do something to me.”

Merlin’s hands massaged my shoulders and back as mine smoothed up and down his sides. “You know it goes both ways,” I murmur happily, dazed but pleasantly warm all over. 

Merlin sighs as he mouths the shell of my ear, rolling slightly onto his side so he could lie next to me, one of his hands coming to rest over my belly button. “We should talk,” he says softly. “Now that we’ve got a little time.”

I try to make a grumpy sound, but it turns into a breathy moan as Merlin takes my ear lobe into his teeth. “Okay, fine.” I whine a moment later. “But you’ll have to stop that so I can concentrate.”

Merlin groaned, but slowly detached his lips from my skin; he leaned back a bit, but he kept his hands firmly placed where they were on my body. “You seem better now that we’ve slept; I’m glad you’re awake though.” His smile was shy, which only made me want to kiss him even more. 

“Me,” I say mockingly. “What about you? How are you feeling with your rut?” I didn’t want to think about how much of Merlin’s motivations were fueled by hormones; it felt so good being with him. 

That shy smile turned into a devilish grin, and those bright blue eyes twinkled as he looked at me. “Calmed down sometime last night; that’s when I decided that I just had to sleep as close to as I could. Hope it didn’t bother you.”

There it was the subtle question that was hanging around us; the question that could burst my happy little bubble. “I think that was the best night’s sleep I’ve ever had actually,” I catch the glint in Merlin’s eyes, the hope in his smile. “I might need you to use me as a pillow every night, if you don’t mind.” I smile brightly as his hands grip my skin a little tighter. 

“I…” Merlin’s voice is raw and his eyes are darting across my face nervously. “Arthur, I…” His stammering is nerve-racking, but the blush that’s growing on his cheeks is adorable. “I think…” he takes a breath. “I think I’m in love with you.”

I surge forward, my lips finding his, and my body pressing down on his slightly. I snake my tongue into his mouth in a feverish kiss. I kiss him until my lungs are aching, and even then, when I pull back for air, I pepper his face with softer kisses. When I hear him chuckle softly, I move so that my mouth is pressed softly against his ear. “I love you too Merlin,” I whisper. “You do things to me too, you know.”

Merlin’s hand ran up my arm and found my cheek, gently separating our faces so he could see my eyes. He smiled softly up at me. “You were so wonderful through all of this,” he whispers as his thumb rubs my cheekbone. “I can’t believe we’ve only known each other a week or so; it feels so natural being with you, around you, taking care of you.”

I smile down at him, my heart pounding at the happy thoughts. “I can’t believe we found this place,” I sigh. “I think I could stay in this room forever with you.” 

Merlin chuckled, and after my stomach rumbled a second later, it quickly turned into a whole-hearted laughing fit. “I think your stomach would disagree.” He managed to get out between laughs. I mockingly slapped his shoulder as I rolled back onto my back. “Why don’t you take a nice warm shower and I’ll go grab us some food from the kitchen.” Before I could respond he was sliding to the edge of the bed and standing up. 

“Hey,” I call as he’s making his way to the bedroom door. I sit up a bit. 

He turns back to me, taking a couple of steps my way. “Yes?” He grins happily as I stretch out an arm, beckoning him towards me. 

“I need clothes,” I say pathetically as I stretch my neck so I can kiss him as he comes over to me. 

He smiles into my lips. “There’s some clean stuff in the closet over there,” he gestures over his shoulder. “And plenty of towels in the bathroom.” He kisses me deeply, his hand under my chin; but then he smiles and backs toward the bedroom door again, smile still firmly in place. 

When he closes the door behind him I flop back onto the bed with a sigh, my eyes closing and the memory of Merlin’s lips making my heart stammer. When my memories have thoroughly shattered me, I make my way off the bed. My feet feel soft carpet as they carry me over to the bathroom. The bathroom is covered in blue and white tile that chills my feet and sends shivers up my spine as I take in the polished porcelain fixtures, the silver framed mirror hanging over the sink and the huge tub and shower across from it. I strip off my remaining clothes and take a look at my reflection before I start the water warming for my shower. The person I see in the mirror is so far from the boy I remember seeing at the compound; yes, he’s got bags under his eyes and dirt smudges on his fair skin, but he also has kiss swollen lips and a smile that will not fade. I step into the shower, closing the curtain, and savoring the warm water; at the compound I always felt as if I was just a number, but a few days with Merlin and I felt like a completely different person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Arthur, I love Merlin, and together... I was inspired, what do you think?


	26. Breakfast In Bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin's POV. Another sweet little scene of the boys in their little hide away before they go and explore their new world.

I was pleasantly surprised to walk back into our room to find Arthur emerging from the bathroom in a cloud of steam, his hair was damp and the golden strands were spiking in a million directions and the jeans he had on were slung low on his waist while the denim fabric clung to every inch of him; to complete the image, as well as make my heart stutter, Arthur hadn’t yet put on a shirt. I grinned at him as I walked into the room and quickly closed the door behind me, which wasn’t easy seeing as I was carrying a tray laden with food and drinks; I used my foot, then I walked over to the bed and placed the tray down on it, making sure to use the folded legs so it wouldn’t spill anything. 

“Is that all for me?” Arthur squeaked as he came over to me to peer at the various treats on the tray. 

I smiled even more, wrapping an arm around his waist to draw him closer; his skin was still warm and damp, which made my stomach fill with ice. “Well,” I say brightly. “I was hoping that we could share,” and I sigh dramatically. “But if you want it, it’s yours.”

Arthur giggled and wrapped his arms around my neck; my arms folded around his waist instinctually, and when Arthur pressed his lips to my neck, they tightened around him to pull him flush against me. “I’d share everything with you,” he purrs into my ear. 

I hold onto my Arthur for a few more moments before I actually feel his stomach rumble, the vibrations tickling my own skin. “Alright,” I murmur against his hair before pulling back. “Let’s get back in bed and have ourselves a little breakfast in bed.”

Arthur smiles as I climb back onto the luscious bed and gently pulled him along with me by his hand; for a few minutes at least he enjoyed the tangled mess that we became as we found our way back to the center of the bed. Arthur enjoyed whining and whimpering as we wrestled about, especially when I would win and punish him with open mouthed kisses-on his neck, his chest, his lips. 

“Stop it,” he pouted finally as I was mouthing at his belly. “Come on, let’s eat.” 

We both situated ourselves so we were snuggled together but sitting up against the headboard before I reached out for the tray. I pulled it close to us so that we could place it between us, but really there was no space in between us so it stood in front of both of us. In reality it was nearly one in the afternoon, which made this lunch in bed, but I wasn’t going to tell Arthur that; we deserved some time away from the real world. Everything on the tray was geared towards breakfast, including the carafes of orange juice and milk and the pot of coffee; I pour myself an orange juice, but when I see Arthur eyeing the tray hungrily, I hand it to him. “Here,” I say calmly. “I’ll butter you a slice of toast to start.” 

He hides his grin in the glass of juice as I pick up a slice of wheat toast and a butter knife; I speak a liberal amount of the butter before I ask him if he wants jam. He nods and I continue. “Would you like strawberry or blackberry?”

Arthur all too happy to snicker when he says “Blackberry please,” as he continues to drink his juice. When I’ve finished painting his toast with the sticky deep blue jelly, he’s finished his juice; I hand him the piece of toast and pour another glass of juice for myself. 

As Arthur was munching away on his toast his eyes darted to and fro from one thing to the next on the tray; I chuckled into my juice as I watched his eyes fall on the plates of egg and sausages. When I put my empty glass down I reached for the smaller plates stacked under neath the plate of toast and pastries; Arthur munch noiselessly as I heaped egg and sausages onto the plate, placed a fork on it, and handed it to Arthur. “Here,” I said as I placed the plate on Arthur’s lap. “I don’t think you need to fill up on sweet things and forget about the protein; you should eat this before you get too full.”

Arthur had a grin on his face and a mouth full of toast and jam as I looked over at him; since his mouth was full I went about fixing myself a plate as well. When I was tucking into my eggs Arthur took another sip of juice and cleared his throat. “You did all of this while I was in the shower?” He asks sweetly, drawing my eyes back to his smokey grey-blue eyes; he looked so different now, rosy cheeks, bright eyes, and even his posture was more alive. 

I nod, my mouth occupied with scrambled eggs. “I can’t believe you made all this for me; you didn’t have to, you know. I would have been fine with a bowl of cereal.” Arthur’s voice turns dreamy as he finishes speaking and picks up a sausage to start nibbling on, turning his eyes away from me and back down to his plate. 

I swallow my eggs, suddenly aware that it may take more than just a few days of freedom to break Arthur of his lack of worth. I put down my plate and instead I pick up the bowl of strawberries that sits toward the back of the tray; I place the bowl in my lap before I turn to Arthur. He’s slowly picking at the food on his plate, and I can see his mind suddenly a million miles away. I reach over gently to hook a finger under his chin to draw his eyes back to mine; I watch his eyes widen and then relax as he smiles lazily. “I like doing things for you, it makes me happy to see you smiling and relaxed.” I whisper before I lean in to capture his mouth. 

Arthur melts, his eyes close, and his hands come up to cup my cheek. When I pull back I lift a strawberry to his lips, he waits a moment to look into my eyes, but he opens his mouth and lets me place the berry against his teeth for him to bite. I bite the remaining piece of berry and then lean back in; Arthur’s mouth tastes like strawberry and blackberry as I lick my way into his mouth. Arthur purrs as I continue kissing him senseless, until we’re both out of breath; I draw back, offering another strawberry, but this time I turn my attention to Arthur’s neck. I leave strawberry stains trailing down Arthur’s perfect neck all the way to his collar bone, feeding us both strawberries as I go. I’m slowly going mad, loosing myself in the whimpers and breathy moans coming from Arthur. I can’t bring myself to spoil this for him, so eventually I draw away from his sweet skin and we both lean back a bit to take turns feeding each other the rest of the berries. 

When the bowl is filled with nothing but berry tops, I can’t help but grin and peck Arthur’s lips one last time; Arthur’s lips are stained with the berry juice and when he grins back at me he looks so alive with the sweetest joy I had seen. “Now,” I whisper as I lean into his ear, nuzzling into his hair. “Eat the rest of your eggs and sausage and there’s a cherry danish that has your name on it.” 

Arthur giggles as I kiss his earlobe and then sit up, bringing him with me. He smiles as he returns his attention to his plate, his cheeks pinking up as he avoids my gaze and focuses on his eggs and sausage. I smile inwardly as I too go back to my food; there’s a happy silence that falls between us for a few minutes as we stuff ourselves with home cooked food for the first time in a very long time. I finish a little before Arthur, suddenly feeling a bit sleepy from the food so I poured myself a teacup full of coffee. 

“That smells good,” Arthur says as he’s finishing his last sausage. “Can I have some?”

I roll my eyes and chuckle as I placed the teacup in front of him on the tray. “Do you want cream and sugar?” I ask as I pour a second cup for myself. When Arthur doesn’t reply, I look over at him; he’s giving me a quizzical look. “Arthur,” my voice seems to jolt him a bit and he replies with a “hmmm?”

“Arthur,” I say sunnily. “Have you never had coffee before?”

Arthur gives me a goofy smile and shakes his head vigorously. I laugh and start adding cream and sugar to both cups of coffee. “Okay, it might not be to your liking, but just give it a try.” I say as I stir the cups with a tea spoon. Arthur grinned as he picked up the steamy teacup; he held it close to his nose and inhaled deeply, and it was my turn to giggle. He took a tiny sip, which seemed to go alright, but when he took a longer sip he hesitated before making a small face. “Not as good as it smells?” I squeak through my suppressed laughter. 

After a moment of playing with the taste of the coffee on his tongue Arthur frown and put the cup down. “I think it needs more sugar,” he says with a pout. 

I chuckle and add another two lumps of sugar to his cup with a swirl on the tea spoon. “Give it another try,” I smile. 

Arthur picks up the cup as if it has personally offended him and he doesn’t trust it; he takes another sip, and a second. He’s finished the cup in a matter of minutes, a silly smile playing across his face as he puts his cup back on the tray. “That was yummy,” he says in a high-pitched, childish voice. 

I sip at my own cup until I’ve had my fill; coffee is good in moderation, and I can’t tolerate too much of it, especially with Arthur and his affect on my heart. Arthur, on the other hand, pours himself another cup and I show him how much sugar and cream to add to it. Before he has time to guzzle down the second cup, I place the cherry danish in front of him; Arthur is all rosy cheeks and glaze on his face, and I enjoyed sitting back to watch him enjoy his treats. 

With our meal finished, I figured it was about time to get dressed and go for a little walk; Arthur didn’t need to be cooped up any longer, so he deserved a nice leisurely walk whenever he walked it. And I needed time to cool off a bit; watching Arthur lick cherry filling and glaze off his fingers had done nothing to help alleviate the lust that curled in the pit of my stomach. 

“I know Mithian isn’t your favorite person,” I started. Arthur opened his mouth to contradict, but I beat him to it. “I’m not blind, especially when it comes to you Arthur.” He gave me a guilty frown, and I knew he was feeling badly; I gave him a kiss to sooth that and continued. “She wants to show us around a little bit, and introduce us to the family if they’re around. Feel like going for a walk?”

“Does that mean putting on clothes like shirts and shoes?” He whines softly, leaning close so that his bare chest presses against my arm. 

I smile and give him another kiss because he’s obviously asking for it. “I’m afraid so,” I say. “But, later on we can revisit the idea of clothing optional sleeping arrangements. Promise.”

There’s a sulky groan, but eventually Arthur smiles. “Well I guess,” he sighs. “Since you promised.” 

I slide out of bed and take Arthur by the hand so I can pull him up with me as I stand up. “Now,” I say mysteriously. “I’m going to ask you a question, and I need you to be honest with me; okay?”

Arthur nods, his face serious. “I showered before I got into bed with you, but do I need another one?” He quirks an eyebrow. 

“Are you asking me if you smell and need a bath?” Arthur teases, a wicked little grin playing over his mouth. I nod somberly. Arther surges forward wrap his arms around my neck; its all I can do to keep my knees locked so they don't collapse. I hear Arthur breathing me in, the tip of his nose running along my neck, and I wrap my hands around him to hold him there for as long as possible. He hums happily, pressing a kiss to my adam’s apple. “Don’t you dare, you smell sweet; I’ll pout if you take a shower, I want you to smell this good when we go back to bed.”

A shuddering breath escapes my lips as I find Arthur’s lips and ravish his mouth; this boy, this amazingly complex creature, the same one that I’m afraid to break or frighten away, is going to cause me so much joy… As long as he doesn’t cause me as much pain. I kiss him until he’s breathless, then I kiss him until I’m breathless. I want it to feel like this all the time, but I can’t pressure him; so I break away from him, keep him at arm’s length. I take a shaky breath as I stare into those sparkling misty eyes. “We should get dressed.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who else melted? I loved writing this chapter. I hope you guys liked it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I have big plans for the next couple of chapters, so just be patient for updates.


	27. Surprise Surprise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We meet a new character in this chapter. Arthur's POV. I am exhausted, it is 3 in the morning, and I really want to know what you think.

I couldn’t decide which I liked better, Merlin half naked or Merlin as he dressed; I sat on the bed stubbornly, the clean blue t-shirt Merlin had handed to me clutched in my hands as they lay in my lap, my eyes mesmerized as I watch Merlin in front of the closet. I watch as his slender waist shifts side to side as he looks at the clothes in the closet; he pulls out a pair of jeans, slim and dark, and a long-sleeve red and white shirt. And then the real show begins; Merlin has his back turned, but I still get to watch as he peels off the soft sweatpants down his legs. his boxer briefs are light blue and hug his pretty ass as if they were painted on. I watch as he pulls on the jeans, almost as tight as the boxers, and wiggles that firm ass to situate himself before buttoning and zipping. Merlin takes the shirt and turns back towards me, and when he sees that I’m still only half dressed he laughs; his laughter is what draws me out of my hypnotized state, even though Merlin’s pale chest is far more interesting than anything else in the world. 

“Can’t take you out without that shirt,” Merlin quips. “I’ll have to beat them back with a stick. Please Arthur,” he says, falling on his knees in front of me. He clasps his hands dramatically and in his most mocking voice he continues. “Save me from having to kill everyone who looks at you and put on the shirt?”

I laugh and blush furiously as I slide the shirt over my head quickly. Merlin is just barely getting up from the floor when I finish, so I stand up and take his shirt from him. “Here,” I say smoothly. “Let me help you.” Merlin smiles at me, a little curiously, but he raises his arms over his head. As I slide the shirt over his head I take the opportunity to inhale that wonderful sweet scent and observe the tufts of dark hair that hide under his arms. I pull the shirt gently until hands and a head emerge; I straighten the bottom hem and then run my hands up his firm torso until I can wrap my arms around his neck. 

“Thank you,” Merlin murmurs before leaning in to peck my lips. I hum, the pleasant warmth of him filling me with a brightness that is new and exciting. 

I smile at him, his bright blue eyes sparkling. “I like doing things for you too, you know.” His arms snake around my waist, sitting a little lower than they had previously. I smile shyly, looking at him through my lashes, imagining the possibilities that those hands might be motivated by love or lust. But before I could get too excited, Merlin was drawing back; I fight down my disappointment, reminding myself that there will be time to continue this when we return to the room. 

“Now that you’re descent I guess we shouldn’t keep Mithian waiting much longer.” Merlin smiles, presses a quick kiss to the corner of my mouth, and takes my hand. We exit the bedroom and Merlin leads the way through a hallway lined with cream colored carpet and walls painted the color of faded nutmeg with paintings and mirrors in guided frames hanging on them. There are a couple of doors, but mostly there’s an open floor plan as we move further through the house; there’s a living room with a large fireplace, a study with two huge mahogany desks, chairs, another fire place, and bookcases, and a coffee nook. 

“Watch your step,” Merlin says, breaking me out of my awe. We’re headed down a staircase, also carpeted with the lusciously soft carpet; the stairs lead us into the entryway, a huge polished oak door standing under a dainty little chandelier. To my right another hallway, this one in a light blue with windows lining the opposite wall and shining huge beams of light onto the walls, washing the color out. 

“Over here love birds,” Mithian’s voice calls from the left somewhere, Merlin’s body blocking my view. He chuckles and squeezes my hand as he turns and walks around the banister. 

To the left of the staircase is another open space, this one even more spacious and lavishly decorated; I can see the other side of the house from here, as the opposite wall is completely made of glass, a solarium and then a garden stretching beyond that. Mithian is sitting on one of the plush couches, the television on the opposite wall shutting off as we enter and move closer to where she is. “I hope that I didn’t interrupt anything by offering to show you around.” She seems sincere, so I relax a bit. 

Before Merlin can chime in I smile politely. “I haven’t been outside the compound in years,” I chirp. “I’m looking forward to a nice walk.” 

Mithian smiles, surprised, but sunny. “Well then,” she says as she stands up. “I know where I want to take you first; follow me boys.” She bounces over to the glass wall, pulling open a sliding section. Merlin and I stare in amazement at her sudden cheeriness before we walk through the door. 

Mithian lead us out through the solarium, opening and closing doors for us as we went, and then we walked through the garden; it was small, enclosed by a stone wall, with an array of greenery and flowers during out of flowerbeds that lined the stone pathway that we were walking along. The path snaked through the garden, eventually coming to a wrought iron gate set into the stone wall; Mithian opened the gate and ushered us through. On the other side was a sort of thoroughfare, a wide, tree lined avenue, with wrought iron gates set into stone walls identical to the one they had just come from; the houses that loomed behind the wrought iron gates all looked lavish though humble. Mithian grew even more excited as she took us down the walkway to a wrought iron gate on the opposite side of the path; she opened this one as well, but simply couldn’t wait, and bounded through first. 

Merlin and I followed, closing the gate behind us; this garden had a similar set up, except that there were more trees and a large pond in the center of the space. Mithian was already waiting for us by a glass door, smile so large that I was afraid that it was going to break her face. “Hurry up,” she hissed from across the garden. Merlin laughed and pulled me out of my staring contest with a fish in the pond. 

Mithian slid open the glass door quietly, and I could tell that she was trying to stifle her excitement; she was failing miserably, but it was the first time that I actual been moderately comfortable around her. Inside, the house was done in a victorian theme, with a huge coffee table with sofas and poofs all around it; there were book cases all around, so this must have been more of a study or lounge. 

“Wait here,” Mithian squeaked before bouncing off toward the stairs. 

“She’s like a different person,” I whisper when she’s gone. 

Merlin just smiles knowingly and draws me into his side for a soft hug; we waited, listening to the sound of muffled giggles and footsteps from overhead. There was a lot of movement, and eventually footsteps on the stairs; Mithian was two or three steps ahead of the person she was leading down the stairs one at a time, she was walking backwards, both hands outstretched and holding those of the person she was leading. Mithian seemed to glow as she stepped down the stairs, her eyes trained on the figure of the person before her. 

“Don’t pull sweetie,” a sweet, soft voice chuckles as the other person begins to emerge from the upper floor of the house. From the back I can see that she has beautiful blonde curls that bounce as she takes each step; they fall to her shoulders. She’s wearing what looks to be a sun dress, a single piece of fabric that went from her back down to her ankles; it was a flowing white fabric with pink flowers dancing across it. 

“Sorry,” Mithian giggled as she guided the girl down another step. “I’m just excited.”

They finally make it to the bottom of the stairs and both turn toward us; Mithian’s arm is around the other girl’s waist, a rosy smile on both their cheeks. “Guys, this is Catarina.” 

Catarina seemed like any average nineteen year old, her fair skin and rosy cheeks with perfect dimples; but as I looked at Catarina, my heart stopped. Where her body should have turned into an hourglass, her stomach was bulging out and her hands were placed one on top and on below. Merlin squeaked and walked over to his cousin while I followed behind, slowly, taking in the image of the two girls. 

“Hi Catarina,” Merlin squeaked, bouncing on his heels as he came to a stop in front of her. “I’m Mithian’s cousin Merlin.”

Catarina’s green eyes twinkled as she smiled, absently stroking her full stomach. “It’s nice to meet you; Mithian has talked my ear off about you for years, so I’m glad you’re hear to prove her stories true.” 

Mithian perked up as I came to stand next to Merlin, my eyes trained on Catarina’s round belly. She cleared her throat, I blushed and my eyes snapped onto Mithian, who gave me a narrow look. “Catarina is my mate,” she says firmly, a little threat in her voice. “She’s seven months with our first.” Mithian squats down to nuzzle her lover’s baby bump. 

Merlin fidgeted next to me, as if he was unsure what he should be doing; I took his hand, both for him as much as for my own peace of mind. “I’m Arthur,” I say shyly. “It’s nice to meet you Catarina.”

Catarina smiles broadly as Mithian begins kissing her stomach. “It’s nice to meet you too Arthur,” she giggles at Mithian’s minstrations. “Mithian told me she saw someone else traveling with Merlin, but she couldn’t tell much…” She gigs as Mithian stands up, wrapping her arm around her again and kissing her cheek. “Are you and Merlin mates?”

Merlin perks up at the mention of the word, and I know that he’s thinking about the Elders and what they mentioned. “Mates? as in friends? The Elders seemed to think something similar, but I… I think that there’s more than friendship between us.” Merlin looks to me, and I smile at him as I remember waking up to him. 

“I agree,” I say softly. 

Mithian and Catarina giggle softly, but we still turn to them; I know that I am a bit perturbed at the choice of reaction. “What?” I snap as I move closer to Merlin, his arm snaking around my hips securely. 

“I’m sorry,” Mithian says as she pulls herself together, Catarina still shaking with laughter. “I keep forgetting that neither of your grew up around other Alphas and Omegas. Mates is a short hand term for SoulMates; for the most part we tend to mate for life, and that means that we have deep chemical connections with our counterparts. It also means that if you find your Mate then you’ll be more likely to conceive because your bodies will be with their most compatible partner.”

Merlin’s grip tightened around me, his thumb running over my hip bone. And I could see Mithian’s eye see the gesture. “If the Elders thought that you two were mates then there’s a very good chance that you are; they have even more powerful seers that Mithian within the council.” Catarina chimed in. 

I looked over at the majestic boy that was holding me close, not even batting an eyelash at the things that these girls were talking about. I, however, was watching Merlin’s eyes dance between Catarina’s face and her baby bulge; Merlin clearly liked the thought. “I take it you’re an Omega then Catarina?”

She nodded happily, rubbing her belly softly. “Mithian and I have been together for almost five years now,” Mithian kissed her hair. “It’s been so amazing being able to create our own family together, even though Mithian’s dad wants us to live in his house once the baby comes.”

“Babies,” Mithian corrects happily. “We’re having twins.”

I can’t breath; suddenly the air feels too thick and the topics too serious. “So, um, Catarina, are you going to join us on our little tour?” I manage to cough out, my throat drier than a desert. 

“What do you think Mithian?” She mocks, her eyes narrowing towards her love. “I want to go, but will you be freaking out the entire time?”

Mithian sighs dramatically. “You are seven months pregnant Cat, I’m allowed to be concerned sometimes.”

“You won’t let me go down to the river anymore because you said you don’t want the babies exposed to the UV rays.” She said shrilly. 

MIthian turned back to Merlin and I. “Well then,” she says, diverting attention. “Let’s all head out. Ladies first mad ear.” And with a flourish she leads Catarina to the front door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Catarina seems like a sweet girl, but her pregnancy is freaking Arthur out... how would you feel??


	28. Cousin

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin and Mithian go shopping while Arthur and Catarina go shopping... Merlin's POV, so very cute stuff and some serious stuff.

Arthur was right; Mithian was like a completely different person when she was around Catarina. I watched her as she held the door open for her mate, her eyes trained on her with a glow that seemed to brighten her entire face. When we were all outside, in the front yard of the house, Mithian was at Catarina’s elbow; she looped her arm with her lover’s and then looked over her shoulder at us. “Follow us gentlemen,” she smiled and turned back to Catarina to kiss her cheek. The other girl giggled softly. 

I pulled Arthur close to me, my arm wrapping around his waist; I’m tempted to see if I could slide my hand into his front pocket, but Arthur seems tense and all I want to do is make him relax again. Mithian and Catarina meander along the sidewalk arm in arm, whispering and giggling; there’s no need to rush, no need to push, we’re just taking it all in. We’re walking along an avenue of houses; I recall carrying Arthur in my arms as Mithian and I jogged to her house in the dying light of that first day we had arrived in Albion. 

“You okay?” I ask quietly as we fall into step with each other as Mithian and Catarina walk a few feet in front of us. 

I look at Arthur, but he only nods; he’s thinking too hard about something, I can tell by the way his brow is pinched and he’s staring at Catarina’s back. “Talk to me,” I breathe into his ear. I feel him shiver, but instead of a smile or a kiss, Arthur turns his face away from me.

We continue walking, but I feel suddenly hallow and afraid. I quietly observe Arthur as we walk along behind the girls; he looks at the world around us, especially as we walk under a huge stone archway that marks the entrance of the neighborhood and marks that we’ve entered the town itself. “Welcome to Albion cousin,” Mithian said as she and Catarina pulled up short at the corner of a four way stop. “This is Market Street; it’s basically the downtown shopping district of Albion. We thought that we could walk around, pop into some of the shops, and then see a movie maybe?”

“I thought maybe Arthur might like to check out some of the Omega-specific shops,” Catarina said softly. “Plus,” she added coyly. “I would love to do some baby shopping, and I’m the only one who knows the sexes; I’ve decided to torture Mithian and not let her know, so I want to shop with someone who won’t blab to her…” I didn’t like this idea; Arthur was already so far away from me, I didn’t want him physically away from me. 

Arthur chuckles next to me. “That sounds like fun,” and I watch as he manages to put on a small smile. “I’d love to.” Catarina smiled delightedly. 

We cross the street into the first shopping center; the entire block was a courtyard with little coffee cart snack vendors and cafe tables circle around a fountain in the center. There were shops all around the courtyard, maybe ten just in this block. Catarina squealed with delight at the sight of one of the shops and quickly detangled her arm from Mithian’s and instead grabbed Arthur’s free hand and pulled him away from me; I resisted the very strong urge to yank him back and growl at Catarina. 

“We’ll be thirty minutes at least,” Catarina called back to Mithian as she and Arthur walked quickly toward one shop in particular. “And no peeking,” she said sternly before turning forward and giggling gleefully. 

Mithian and I watched them disappear into the shop, the sigh above it read “Blissful Baby”; I sighed heavily, as if all the air in the world had left with my Arthur. Mithian chuckles and patted me on the shoulder. “First time he’s been out of your sight?” She says smoothly. That’s when it dawns on me; she’s right, this is the first time since the fire at the compound that Arthur has left my side. I nod, staring at the place where he had disappeared. 

“Come on cousin,” she says, her hand moving from my shoulder down my arm to grip my forearm. She pulls me in the opposite direction that Arthur and Catarina had gone in. “It gets easier, you just have to grin and bear it at first.”

Mithian dragged me into a nick-knack’s boutique and stood in front of the door, barring my exit, giving me a dirty look until I conceded and turned to look at the shop. “Wow,” she says mockingly. She takes to following me around the shop as we look at the things in the shop. “You look like someone just knock your ice cream to the ground.”

I make a grumble as I pick up a trinket; it’s a music box with inlaid wood and a velvet lining. “Talk cousin.” Mithian says as she takes the box from my hands. 

I sigh again, feeling so lost. “Arthur seemed a little bit strange when we were walking over from Catarina’s house; he was so quiet, I haven’t seen him that quiet since his heat.” 

Mithian decides that this isn’t the shop for us, and drags me into the next one; it’s a chocolate shop, and I am immediately fascinated by the number of confections. “You’ve taken good care of him Merlin, but there’s still a lot for you both to learn.” I look over at her; she’s got her nose pressed up against the glass of a display of various candy apples. “Catarina was rescued from a horrible situation; I thought I would never be able to sooth her, and now we’re about to be parents.”

I look at a display of chocolate covered things; I haven’t had chocolate in a very long time, and I wanted to get something special to give Arthur later. “Every new challenge I worry that he might break apart, and maybe I won’t be able to put him back together.” I catch the eye of the boy behind the counter and wave him over. I ask for chocolate covered marshmallows, graham crackers, strawberries, brownies, and caramels; he smiles and goes about boxing and wrapping them up. 

“Merlin,” Mithian begins as she picks out some chocolates herself. “Did your mother eventually tell you that you were an Alpha?”

I shake my head as I come to stand next to Mithian at the cash register; Mithian had explained that until Arthur and I got on our feet, her entire family had agreed to treat us to whatever we might need and a few small luxuries whenever possible. Mithian paid for the chocolates, handed me my bag, and then we walked to the shop next door. It was a bookstore. I sighed again, but tried to focus on the store. “Mom never told me anything,” I pick up a book and flip through the pages; it seems to be some sort of dry history novel. “The only person who really told me anything was this doctor at the compound, Gaius; he told me that I was an Alpha, apparently a rather virile one, at least that’s what he said.”

Mithian grabbed my arm and spun me around to face her. “Merlin, you really need to know more about yourself before you worry too much about Arthur. He must have had some sort of health education while he was in the compound, but you should know about what you are. Arthur will need you to be able to control your own instincts, just like you’ll appreciate when he knows what his body is doing.” 

Mithian lead me over to a section in the back of the store; the section had various genres, but they all seemed to deal with the same topic. “Puberty books?” I say, my cheeks flushing as my eye catches on a children’s book with the title “What’s that there? It’s hair!” 

“Yes Merlin,” Mithian started looking through the titles on the spines of the books. “Because I see the way you look at Arthur, the way you are around him; and because I saw how you were when you saw Catarina.” 

I continue blushing, trying to look anywhere that might not embarrass me any further. “What do you mean?” I groan as she starts picking out books. 

“Merlin,” she sighs. “You’re what, like sixteen? And Arthur’s about the same age, right?”

I nod my head, she starts stacking books in my arms. “You saw Catarina and your Alpha instinct kicked in; you thought of what it would be like to see Arthur pregnant, with your child.” My mouth fell open. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

“Do you think that’s why Arthur got quiet? Do you think he could sense that; I’ve been trying so hard not to pressure him, but Mithian…” I take a deep breath and look at the books in my arms. “I barely know him, and I love him so much already. I’m scared of loosing him.”

Mithian chuckles and looks through the books that she’s picked out. She picks two, they’re not too thick which means I’ll be able to read them quickly. “I can’t tell you how much Catarina drove me crazy when we first met.” She sighs dreamily. “But really, you need to read these; once you understand some of the basics, maybe you and Arthur can smooth down some of those fears of his.”

Mithian took the books to the register and paid then tucked them into the bag with the chocolates. “And yes,” she said. “Omegas can sense things; however, I’ve only ever heard of it happening with Married and Mated couples.”

I quirk an eyebrow. “You used that word again, but in a different way; explain yourself Mithian.”

She and I walk into the next shop; it’s a jewelry shop, but nothing like the ones I’ve seen. There’s a holistic, organic, feel; the displays are branches with necklaces hanging from them, there are crystals and gem and bangles and leather things. “Well, there’s having a mate and then there’s the mating ceremony.” She chuckles. 

She follows me around the different sections of the shop; there are so many beautiful things, and I couldn’t help but think of Arthur as the light danced through the different crystals. “Are you and Catarina Mated then?” I ask as I pick up a silver ring set with a rudy; it’s raw and beautiful, and I think of Arthur wearing it and smiling at me. 

Mithian sighs. “We will be,” she says as she too looks at the various rings. “Mating Ceremonies are intricate, and must be overseen by an Elder. It’s complicated, Catarina’s family doesn’t really approve of the match; she came here in one our rescues, she knew nothing of her parents…” Mithian stares at the gold ring with a sapphire and little yellow gems set around it. “She was chained to a bed,” her breathing was growing ragged. “Constantly abused, raped, starved…”

I turn to Mithian; she has tears trickling out of her eyes, and I can relate. Arthur was my world as soon as I saw how little love he had, and just the memories made my heart clench. I put a hand on her shoulder and she turns her watery gaze on me. “You’ll have your Mating Ceremony soon, I’m sure.”

Mithian nods and goes off to another section to look at more rings. I go to the back of the shop where there’s a small bookshelf; all the books are made of leather, and as I pick one up I see they’ve all got embossed designs on them. They’re not only beautiful, but Arthur should have somewhere to write down all his thoughts and feelings; he’s never had much to call his own, and this might help him work through some of his emotions. I pick out a leather journal with a crescent moon set in the center of a celtic knot that’s embossed with silver and gold. 

“Come on Merlin,” Mithian calls from the front of the store. I find her at the register, the woman handing her over a small chiffon bag with a red velvet box inside it. I show her the journal. “He’ll love it Merlin. Now, come on, let’s pay. I see them sitting by the fountain.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what do you think of the boys little outing so far? Arthur's POV coming soon.


	29. Heart to Heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First, I am very sorry that this is so so late. I had to deal with life on life's terms, but the good news is that I survived and I am back at it, so it should all be alright. This is Arthur's trip into Blissful Baby with Catarina. Lots of things coming up for Arthur, but I think he's a trooper.

MIthian may give me a sense of foreboding, but Catarina is all hugs and soft giggles; when she had initially suggest that we break off from Merlin and Mithian, I was surprised. I hadn’t been away from Merlin’s side in almost a week, but it felt like even longer. With all the thoughts swirling around in my head, I needed a chance to breath. So, Catarina’s offer seemed like the best option, seeing as I couldn’t just run away; I had no idea where we were or how to get back to Mithian’s house. 

Catarina gently pushed me into the shop and followed behind me; one glance over my shoulder and I could see the devastated look on Merlin’s face through the shop’s glass door. “Don’t worry,” Catarina chirped, a gently hand on my shoulder blade. “Mithian will take care of him.” And she was right, a moment later and Merlin was being dragged into a shop across the courtyard. 

I turn back to Catarina with an apologetic look. “Sorry,” I mumble, my hands fidgeting with the hem of my shirt; I felt so naked without Merlin’s arm around my waist. “I guess I’m just worried about him.” 

Catarina takes my hand and laces her fingers with mine; my eyes turn up and I catch her soft smile through my eyelashes, so I return it shyly. “It’s okay, this is just a chance for you to stretch your wings a little bit; he’ll be waiting for you when we’re done.”

I nod my head and let her lead me into the store. “Wow,” I say as we are slowly consumed by pastel blues and pinks. 

Catarina giggles as we move to the back of the store where the newborn sizes are. “I know,” she sighs dreamily. “I’ve been wanting to come in here for months, but Mithian wouldn’t let me come in alone and there was no way I was going to cave and let her in on my surprise.”

We come to the back wall, racks upon racks lining it, each one holding a plethora of tiny little outfits. Catarina lets go of my hand and turns, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet, a huge smile lighting up her face. “Are you ready?” She squeals.

I nod my head, and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. She can barely contain herself as she spins around and then spins back, two little pink dresses on hangers, clutched in her hands. I feel my jaw drop and my mouth form a perfect O. “Oh!” I say breathily. “They’re girls?” I squeak as I reach forward to run my fingers along the satin trim of one of the dresses. 

Catarina nobs furiously, tears glittering on her lashes. I feel such a swell of emotion, I step forward and wrap my arms around her; I hug her, and she shakes with happy tears as we stand there for a few minutes. “Girls,” she says. 

“Girls,” I echo as we pull apart, beaming at each other. 

“Okay,” she says as she wipes at the corner of her eyes. “Enough blubbering, we should start shopping. Besides there will be plenty of time for that later.” We turn back to the rows and rows of various hues of pink that surround us, smiles and giddiness build up in both of us as we burst out into happy laughter. 

We go about pulling different little clothes off the racks, calling back and forth to each other across the aisles; We picked out more than twenty outfits before we move on to furniture, which is in a different section of the store. One of the attendants helps us, taking all the clothes we pick out and putting them away for Catarina to pick up after the babies are born. 

“What do you think?” Catarina said as she waddles over to a rosewood changing table with a fleece-lined changing pad; there are little pink roses and rosebuds with pastel green leaves painted around the edges. I make a strange cooing noise, which startles me, and I hesitate in my move towards the table. 

“You okay?” Catarina asks as I quietly make my way to her; I grasp the edges of the table to keep myself standing upright. I shake my head silently, my body shaking; Catarina immediately takes my arm and moves us to the selections of rocking chairs where we both have a seat. 

“Arthur,” she says cautiously. “What happened? I’m supposed to be the emotional one here; you were so excited a moment ago.”

“I’m not used to this,” I say shakily. “Catarina, is it always like this? Am I always going to feel like this? I thought it might settle down if Merlin wasn’t with me, but it’s like ten times worse because I want to share this with him on top of feeling like this.”

I rock back, closing my eyes before the tears could do more than threaten to flow down my cheeks. “And what is it that you’re feeling Arthur; what is it that you’re so frightened of?”

I inhale through my noise. “This feeling of wanting, of sudden emptiness…” I can’t finish my thought without a whimper and biting my bottom lip. 

Catarina sighs next to me and I feel her soft hand pat mine on the armrest of the rocker. “You like the idea, of you and Merlin…” she takes a breath. “You want to have your own,” I crack my eyes open to see her place her other hand on her round belly. 

“I…” I swallow. “I… I want… Babies.” My voice breaks and the tears trickle down my face quietly. 

Catarina struggles out of her rocker and pulls me out mine, then she crushes me into her in a hug that could crack bones; for someone who’s so small and so pregnant should not be able to squeeze me into a puddle of emotion. “Hush now,” she coos into my shoulder, her hands rubbing my back as if she were already a mother. “You think you’re the only one who’s ever felt like this?” She pushes me back suddenly, holding me at arms length. “While you were busy working yourself into a tizzy, did you happen to see Merlin’s reactions?”

I shrug and sniffle. Catarina laughs at me softly. “Merlin would give you as many pups as you want sweetie,” she smiles softly at me as I sniffle out a chuckle. “He probably loves the idea of you all rosy cheeked and round with his babies.”

I inhale deeply, not even aware that the attendant that had been helping us had appeared to deposit a tray with various beverages on it near us. “Then why am I so scared Catarina? Why is the thought of being with child frighten me so much; I love Merlin, more than I am ready to divulge, but even his presence couldn’t stop the wave of terror I felt when I realized I wanted him to breed me.”

Catarina picked up a glass of water and handed it to me, nudging my hand; I took a long drink. “I may not have come from a compound Arthur,” her voice is cold and hard now. “In some ways, I wish I had. I still do not like to speak of it except with Mithian; the past is the past, and she is my future.”

I drink, breathe, and let my tears dry as I watch Catarina drink a glass of water herself, her eyes steely and void of her previous cheer. “I’m sorry,” I stammer. “I should never have brought this up; this should be a happy occasion for you. I…” I sniffle, rubbing my eyes. “I’m sorry I ruined it for you.”

Catarina stared into the vastness of the baby store as she finished her water, her silence more frightening than anything I’d ever heard before. When she turns back to me however, her eyes are clear and so is the passion flaming up within them. “Don’t apologize,” she says, some of her merriment returning if somewhat quietly. “You can always come to me, as Omegas we are the nurturers; We support each other as well as Alphas.”

“I’m excited for you,” I say quietly as I turn to look back at the changing table she had been looking at. “You know, having your twins and their mother…” I sigh dreamily as I turn back to her; I step toward her and loop our arms once again. “Now, let’s spoil these girls before they even know what spoiled is.” 

She giggles and we turn back to the furniture; we agree on the rosebud changing table, a rosewood sleigh crib, a powder pink bassinet, and we pick out a beautiful lullaby device that plays a light show as well. By the time we’ve finished looking through the last of the merchandise in the store, I feel like Catarina has already purchased everything she will need for her girls for the next four years. “I can’t believe all the things that a baby needs,” I say in awe as she finishes explain the payment and delivery to the shop keeper; I think she could demand they deliver it by parachute and they wouldn’t mind, seeing as they were selling her practically half their shop. 

I held the door open for Catarina as we strolled back into the courtyard square. She seemed delighted and relieved. “Yeah, and believe me, no one can really prepare you for the instinct shift.” She stretched as we strolled over to the fountain to find a seat somewhere. “I mean, one day I’m ripping off her clothes, the next I’m shooing her from the room to make a nest-and that’s literal, I always thought it was figurative.” 

I lend her a hand as she gingerly lowers herself onto a bench set around the fountain. “All I really know about Alphas and Omegas is that they’re chemically attracted to each other, that they have specialized sex organs that are unlike that of humans and they go through heats and ruts.”

She laughs at me as I sit down next to her. “You sound like you’re quoting from some text book.” 

I snort. “Well, I am; they were forced to educate us, but it was never more that the minimum.” 

Catarina pats my knee as she sighs, then brings her hands to her baby bump. She strokes it lovingly. “You’ll make sure they know,” she whispers. I turn to see her, she’s speaking to me but her eyes are trained on her stomach. “You’ll be able to protect then, you and Merlin. They’ll be safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what did you think? The boys are getting closer to a monuments event in their relationship... I'm excited and terrified, is it weird that I've been enjoying doing my smut research? I've been watching youtube clips of Queer as Folk-now i am addict just FYI.


	30. For Right Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I think that there's going to be one more chapter before we deal with some light smut and a deep heart-to-heart. Merlin's POV. Mithian is both a gem as well as a pill. Love her.

I’m surprised to see that neither Arthur nor Catarina have any bags or purchases with them when we meet them by the fountain. I can’t hide my enthusiasm at the sight of Arthur; as soon as Mithian opens the door to the shop, I practically bound out. It isn’t until I’ve come around behind him, wrapped an arm around his shoulder and stolen a kiss from over his opposite shoulder. Arthur smiled into my lips, and even though I would have continued the kiss, I refrained and pull away to hear him sigh dreamily. 

Mithian was a few steps behind me, chuckling the entire way, as she makes her way to Catarina and leans in to peck her lips and then press two kisses to her swollen belly. “Did you have fun in the baby store?” Mithian murmured mockingly as she straightened up. 

Catarina nodded and allowed Mithian to pull her up from the bench so that they could embrace; I was only too happy to replace Catarina next to Arthur. He melts into my side, his face finding a place to nuzzle into just under my ear. “I missed you,” he whispered and I couldn’t help the happy sigh that washed over me. 

I kissed his cheek before leaning in to murmur into his neck. “You have no idea.”

Mithian makes an annoyed sound and Arthur and I both blush as we realize that we’ve been ignoring both of the girls and Catarina is nearly bouncing with excitement at the prospect of moving on to the next shopping center. We get up from the bench and begin wandering back toward the thoroughfare; the next block is bigger, more horseshoe shaped, and has music filtering in through an invisible sound system. While Mithian and Catarina take the lead again, and Arthur and I fall behind them, I take the opportunity to take his hand and twirl him about to the music. 

“What was that for?” He laughs as he returns to my side, wrapped in my arm again. 

“Just to remind you that no matter what,” I hiss into his ear. “I will always be the one to keep you from spinning off into space.” 

He smirked, I could see it from the side; then he exhaled a laugh. “You can be so sappy sometimes.” 

I smile at that, because I know he loves it even though he’s trying to avoid my eyes; he leans into me as we continue walking. We catch up to the girls just in time for Catarina to this Arthur away from me once again; Mithian was right, this time when Catarina stole my Arthur away I was at least deprived of the urge to shove her away. 

The shop that Catarina was walking Arthur into was larger, but only slightly, and the name above it was written in curly neon lettering. “What is “Omega Emporium”?” I ask as I turn to Mithian. 

She smiles cheekily at me before she starts walking across the square to another shop, this one had it’s windows painted with it’s name in huge bright lettering: “All Alpha”. “These shops are here to provide supplies for Omegas and Alphas to help them live normal, healthy, lives without the need for harmful pharmacological things like they try to pump us full of outside of Albion.”

Mithian opens the door to the shop and gently shoves me inside even though my mouth is hanging open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I say as I spin around and find myself inside what would appear to be a pharmacy, but not one I had ever seen before. 

“Come on,” Mithian groaned as she took me by the collar of my shirt and walked us back to a particular aisle. “Pick out a box,” she says flatly before avoiding my gaze and tilting her face to the ceiling in attempt to hide her blush. 

I looked at the items lined up on shelves in front of me and immediately found myself heating up in the face. Condoms, specifically made for Alphas of any size; there were millions of little boxes on the shelves and I had no idea what I might need. “Um…” I groan as I pick two boxes up at random to compare. “How do I know what size I am?” I ask, though my voice dies out towards the end. 

Mithian groans too before her eyes snap back onto mine. “Okay,” she says in a huff. “Don’t ever say I didn’t help you out.” She takes two seconds to peruse the shelf before picking up a box and dropping it into my palm. “Here,” she says gruffly and tosses the ones I had been holding back onto the shelf. 

I read the box: “Various sizes, lambskin, lubricated, and cherry flavored.” I gape at the box and then at Mithian. “When you figure out your size you can come get more of those, but for now…” then she shifts uncomfortably and grumbles disgustedly. 

I can’t even manage to get out a thank you before Mithian is striding away from me. “Why don’t you take a look around while I pick up a few things,” she calls over her shoulder. And then she’s gone, and I start to walk away, not making eye contact with the boxes on the shelves. 

There are a variety of herbal supplements that line the shelves, salves and balms, ointments and lineaments, but I somehow find my way into a section of the store that carries things like chastity belts and collars with spikes. I’m staring at a particularly horrifying thing that reminds me of a plug, but I can’t even begin to imagine where one might put it, when Mithian walks up behind me. 

“It’s a shame that even here Omegas can be seen as property,” she says icily. Her voice makes me jump and I take a step back. 

“That’s not property,” I say sadly. “That’s something else.” I wince at the thought of Arthur being harnessed like an animal. “Omegas are no weaker than Alphas,” I breath as I step further back, bumping into Mithian’s shoulder. 

“Unfortunately,” Mithian sighs. “The Elders are obliged to offer Sanctuary to all who seek it so long as what they do is within the bounds of nature. They try to interfere with personal disputes as much as possible.”

I turn away from the despicable display. “I have to get out of here,” I say and brush passed her, dropping the box of condoms into her hand. I don’t stop until I’m outside; I want to much to run across the squared and find Arthur in that other shop, but I have a feeling that would be frowned upon. I press my back agains the cold window front of the store and slide down until my butt hits brick. I pull my legs into my chest and burry my face in them. 

It takes a couple of minutes for Mithian to come outside, but when she does she’s quiet. She sits down cross-legged beside me and puts a hand on my shoulder. “It’s okay Merlin,” her voice is so sure I almost believe her. “Sometimes you just have to be grateful for the things that you already have; you have Arthur, and you know you would never let anything happen to him. If you think too far beyond that you’ll only drive yourself mad,” she lets her hand stroke my shoulder soothing. “Your Omega has you, that has to be enough for right now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, even Albion isn't all sunshine and ponies. Nothing is as it appears. What did we think of this chapter?


	31. A Choice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're one step closer to a very important, pivotal, moment for these two boys. Also, the shopping is nearly over, so if you hate shopping, then you'll feel so much better in the next chapter or so.

Catarina may have pulled me away from Merlin’s sweet kisses, but this time we walked side by side into the shop that she opens the door to; I half expect to find more baby things filling the space, and I guess some of it could be considered along those lines. 

“Is that…” I stumble over the word as Catarina takes my hand gentle and leads me over to an section that my eyes cannot stop staring at. “Um…” 

Catarina looks over her shoulder at me with a sympathetic smile. “Well,” she says as she pulls me into the “New Mommy” selection. “I needed to pick up some things and I thought this would be the easiest way to introduce you to the store.”

Catarina lets go of my hand cautiously, as if she she’s worried I might bolt out of the store at any moment. She gingerly picks up a box of tea, the name of which included, among other things, the word “lactation”. I felt dazed as my eyes were drawn to the assortment of things that iced this section; there were bottles of vitamins, herbal supplements, ointments and lotions and poultices. 

“What is all of this?” I say in wonder as I’m drawn closer to a shelf filled with little pots of cream that range from “stretchmark-be-gone” to “swollen ankle soother”. 

Catarina sighs sweetly as she turns her attention to a selection of heartburn remedies. “This store specializes in Omega Care; it offers things that Omegas need to temper their heats as well as sooth pregnancy pains.” 

I follow her like a small child, my eyes fixed on the items that we passed by, my feet clumsy and slow. We moved into a section of the store that seemed more medical; there were sealed containers of syringes and vials in refrigerators as well as bottles of pills. “What’s this?” I ponder as I pick up a vial and hold it up to my nose. 

Catarina shuffles uncomfortably. “I don’t like this part of the store,” she says brusquely. “It’s suppressants and stabilizers,” she moves quickly towards the end of the aisle. 

I follow behind her quickly, confused; I had heard about things like this, but never seen them. “Catarina,” I call softly as I trail behind her awkwardly. “Please wait.”

She stops at the end of the aisle where there’s a large selection of maternity pillows stacked up in different piles. Her breathing is harsh, though we hadn’t been moving too quickly, and I immediately worry that I’ve done something to upset her. I place a hand on her shoulder, but the tears are already flowing down her cheeks and her sniffles are obvious. 

We stand there for a minute, but before I can decide on the proper way to console her, Catarina is wiping her eyes and clearing her throat. “You’re lucky Arthur…” She takes a breathe. “I can see it in Merlin’s eyes; it’s the same kind of love I see in Mithian’s smile. They would never abuse their role as Alpha, even if our instincts are to obey them.” Her voice is thick with tears that she’s stuffing down. 

“Catarina,” I coo, my hand running up and down her shoulder in an awkward attempt to comfort her. 

Her head snaps in my direction making me flinch, and the icy fire in her smoldering eyes sent a static shock through my limbs; my hand retracted. “Do not think that just because you are here now Arthur, that you are suddenly equal to your Alpha counterparts. My father’s family is adamant about not allowing me to marry and be mated to Mithian; and because I am an Omega, their will is held in higher esteem with the Elders.”

“But Mithian is an Alpha, why can’t she…”

Catarina shakes her head curtly and scoffs. “She has to deal with all of the political bullshit,” Catarina wraps her arms around herself, as if there’s a draft that she’s guarding against. “I’m not even allowed to speak at the meetings unless directly questioned.”

I don’t know what to say, my mouth dry and uncooperative. Catarina sniffled softly and ran a hand over her stomach, a soft sound escaping from the depths of my chest. “When I was alone I use to pray that they would give me suppressants,” her hands clenched. “Otherwise I would be beaten to keep any pups from taking hold.”

I stopped her by pulling her into a tight embrace, our heads bowed together and our sobs trapped between us. “Your babies will never have to know such pain,” my voice is muffled in her shoulder as we continue to cry into each other’s shoulders. “Mithian will protect you, and so will Merlin and I.”

We pull ourselves together, our sobs dang into sniffles, as we rest our foreheads together. “You are so much more than I ever imagined Arthur,” and Catarina smiles a broken and wet smile at me. She takes my hand and I follow behind her slowly. 

“I need to find something for you,” she said quietly. We go through aisles and aisles until we come to a shelf lined with little boxes. “You’ll need this,” she picks up one of the boxes and hands it to me. “I wish someone had given me some before…” She cleared her throat again. 

“Massage oils?” I ask, my eyebrow quirking up. 

“Massage oils that will make you more comfortable when you decide to be with Merlin.” She corrected. “If you’re not in a heat when you decide to sleep with Merlin, these will allow him the same amount of… lubrication that your naturally occurring slick would give him.”

I feel my cheeks heat at the idea, as well as from the fact that I’m secretly glad to have been given this. Catarina makes no comment about my pink face, instead she continues walking through the store. There’s a section full of lingerie, both things for women as well as for men; I felt myself turn beet red as my eyes caught on a pair of shiny red hot pants, but then I quickly returned my gaze to the back of Catarina’s form. 

“I wanted to show you this place,” Catarina says as we’re slowly walking through a section of the store that has pregnancy tests as well as books on pregnancy-both for males as well as females. “It’s important to know where you can get things specifically for Omegas.”

“I never would have thought there could be so much for just Omegas,” I say in wonder as my gaze is drawn to a book that debates between breastfeeding and bottle feeding. 

“We give life Arthur,” Catarina has brought me full circle now and I can see the entrance of the store again. “You must remember to take care of yourself though,” and turns to me. “You’ve been through your first heat, right?”

I nod my head slowly, not enjoying the memories. “The next one will be different because you’ll have Merlin with you. It shouldn’t happen for a while, but just remember that you have a choice whether it seems like it or not.” 

We exchange shy smiles, then before she can turn away I sweep her into a soft hug. “Thank you Catarina,” I whisper into her shoulder. “You have no idea how much it means to me to have found an Omega, or anyone for that matter, who believes that I have a say in my own life.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's really starting to come into his own, slowly but surely. What do you think??


	32. Heaven

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Smut Alert: basically the entire thing. Let me know what you think because I've never done this before and I am super scared (I psyched myself out so much about this). I need good, bad, constructive, all of the feedback.

When we leave the Omega store, after Catarina has paid for the items she needed as well my massage oils, I see Merlin and Mithian sitting against the wall of a store opposite us, both look as drained as I feel and I can’t help but rush as I walk over to my Merlin. He feels limp to the touch as I fall to my knees in front of him, taking his hands in my own. His eyes finally find mine and focus on me, a sorry excuse of a smile glancing across his face before he leans forward to press his forehead against mine. We stay that way, quiet, for a moment. 

“I’m ready to go home,” I breath against his face, rubbing my nose along his gently. “You?”

Merlin nods, an exhausted sigh escaping through his nose. Mithian is already standing, her arms wrapped around Catarina, and their exchanging hushed whispers; I glance over my shoulder at them before I ease back on the heels of my feet and then flex my muscles; I gently pull Merlin to his feet, tugging him against me from hip to shoulder. “I missed you,” I whisper under his chin then press a kiss there. 

“You two seem exhausted,” Catarina says in a worried voice. “Would you like us to walk you back to the house?”

I can see that Merlin’s practically dead on his feet, his nose huffing slow soft breaths into my ear, and to be honest I couldn’t remember the way that we had come. “Yes please,” I say as I wrap my arm around Merlin’s waist and we find our balance.

The walk back to Mithian’s family home is short, but I can hear the fatigue in every little thing that Merlin whispers in my ear. We come to the front yard in only a few minutes, but Mithian makes no move to walk up the path to the door. “Do you mind if I leave you here?” She’s wrapped around Catarina protectively, and Catarina in return is giving annoyed huffs every few seconds. 

I fight the giggles that tempt me. “I just want to walk Cat home,” she says demurely. 

Catarina, however, scoffs. “You’ll end up staying the night like you do most nights.”

“It’s fine,” I say and Merlin nods next to me. 

“Yes,” Merlin’s voice is lazy as his hand rubs circles into my hip. “The door’s unlocked?”

Mithian nods, a sympathetic smile gracing her face. “If you get hungry feel free to fix anything you want,” she adds casually. 

Merlin nods again, this time his head lolling a bit too much. Mithian and Catarina hand us our respective bags from the shopping trip and then say their good-byes as they begin the short walk down the lane to Catarina’s house. 

“Come,” I say sweetly as I direct Merlin’s attention to the front door. He makes a lethargic grumbling sound as I begin propelling us both towards the door. I quietly push it open, only letting go of Merlin when we’re both inside the dark foyer; before I can find the light switch, he’s closed the door and has both arms wrapped around my middle. 

“We need a nap,” he purred into my ear, his lips soft and moist; my legs threatened to buckle. “Don’t worry lamb,” he continues. “I won’t threaten your virtue just yet.”

My breathe hisses out of my lungs in a startled gasp, but I spin in his embrace. Even in the darkness that surrounds us, I can see the shoe of Merlin’s eyes as he gazes at me with an open expression. Lost in my own emotions for a moment, I find the only words I need in action; I lean up and capture his bottom lip between my own. I press softly until Merlin’s lips part in a dreamy sigh, then I lick to capture the other lip. A heartbeat later I’m pulling away, and I can tell that Merlin’s eyes are closed. “You don’t have to think such thoughts,” I whisper as my hands find the silk of his hair at the nape of his neck. “My virtue has always been yours,” and I see the glint of his eyes as they flicker open. “Now,” I breathe heavily. “Take me to our bed.”

There’s a soft rumbling that comes from Merlin’s chest as he takes my hands and begins to lead me up the stairs; as we move through the darkness into the haze of the upper floor, I see the smoldering desire that’s burning deep in his eyes. I should feel frightened, unnerved at the thought of giving myself over to the instincts that are curling around in the pit of my stomach. I’m lost in his eyes as he guides us into the bedroom, unaware that we’ve even made it this far without a single mishap. 

Our bags find their way to the end of the bed while Merlin and I drift to the side, our eyes locked as he walks me back until the backs of my legs hit the bed and I sit. “I don’t want to pressure you,” Merlin says sweetly, and in a gentle movement he slide to his knees in front of me with his hands and chin finding purchase on my knees. He looks up at me, his fingers tracing curlicues on my jeans. 

“I’m scared,” I admitted, my voice sounding hollow for a moment as I struggle to tear down the last of my walls surrounding my heart. This is Merlin, I remind myself, the one who risked everything in order to give me some semblance of freedom. “But not of you,” I say as I reach out and buy his velvet soft cheek in my palm; his eyes close halfway and roll into his head. 

“I would never ask you to do anything…”

I shush him, my fingers stroking his cheek softly. “I want this Merlin,” my voice is soft and warm; my heart is pounding against my ribs. “I want you,” I rephrase; his eyes flutter open, looking at me through thick lashes. “It scares me how much I want to give of myself,” and I take a deep breath. “I want to give you what Catarina is giving Mithian; I see you, a sweet and loving father, to dote on a baby…” Merlin’s eyes bore into mine with a lust that burns me to my core. “I want to give you that; I think we both want it…”

And Merlin’s up and pushing me onto my back, slowly, until his lips chase mine and I’m surrounded by the downy comforter. “Arthur,” Merlin says against my lips. “I don’t need children, at least, not until we’re both ready.” He swallows my huff, lips coming over my own. We separate with a wet pop. “For now,” he whispers, nose running along my upper lip. “Just knowing that you want these things… With me.”

This time I steal his lips, sucking and twining our tongues softly. “Enough,” I pant a few seconds later. “I want you, please Merlin. Make me yours, be my first, my only.” My voice sounds desperate and yet I don’t care. 

In a flash Merlin is gone, and I’m whimpering and pouting. The next he’s standing above me again holding up two of the boxes; one is mine, I recognize the box of massage oils, and the other is a variety box of condoms. “I see you and Catarina did some shopping as well,” his voice was deep and rough, but my hips twitched in response. 

Merlin pulls his shirt over his head, the sight of his milky chest and ruddy nipples draws me up to a seated position. I’m hypnotized, my hands acting of their own deranged will, stretching out timidly; they hover there, inches away from the well-formed chest of the boy I loved. I gasp, startled, when Merlin takes a step forward causing my fingers to make contact with his warm silky skin. “I’m yours.” He says, and reaches for my shirt. 

I sigh sweetly, even though I’m unhappy at the lack of contact, when I have to lift my arms for him to rid me of my shirt. He catches my hands in his own after he discards the fabric; he steps closer, bringing my arms around his neck and leaning down to kiss my neck. “Always yours,” I pant as my eyes close, his tongue lapping at my pulse point. 

Somehow Merlin ends up doing all the work while I simply turn into a puddle of lust, and yet he handles me with great tenderness. We arrive in the center of our huge bed, my body pressed from hip to shoulder down into the softness, Merlin above me and our legs and arms twined about each other. I feel each movement, even though they’re small and slow. We’re kissing, feverishly, in the middle of the bed; and it isn’t till I feel Merlin growing steadily between my legs that I truly realize that we’re both entirely naked. 

I separate our mouths in order to gasp and pant into Merlin’s ear; he’s hard and hot, and the longer it presses into my abdomen, the more crazed I feel. “Please,” I say heavily. “I don’t want to wait any longer.” 

Merlin groans as he shifts to the side, onto an elbow, pulling the box of oils open first; I lift my head, suddenly disgruntled as he slowly inches down my body. When I can’t hold my head up any longer I let it fall back against the pillows and close my eyes. I hear the sound of a foil packet being ripped open then there’s strong, gentle hands on my upper thighs. 

“Just relax,” Merlin’s voice is like honey to my ears and I can’t help the curl that my toes and fingers do. I breath through my nose as I feel Merlin’s slippery hands move up and down my legs, his fingers pressing and swirling into chunks of muscle; he moves from my thighs all the way down to my ankles, slowly turning me into a mewling mess before moving back up to my hips. I widen my legs, knowing that Merlin will need access to my most intimate area, but he works the fragrant oil into my hips thoroughly. 

The entire room smells of roses and vanilla as I hear Merlin’s heavy breathing. As a male Omega I have all the physical aspects of a male with the addition of several female aspects, therefore it shouldn’t startle me so much when a slippery finger caresses down the side of my painfully hard cock. I shiver, and then as the single finger is joined by another that hooks around my base and under my sack; I keen sharply as my legs tense up. “You’re so sweet and pink,” Merlin growls huskily as slowly his fist forms around my small member. 

I whimper and my hips stutter as I try to refrain from arching up. Thankfully he only spends a moment or two on my cock before both hands swipe down the insides of my thighs and there’s warm oil and a finger that circle around my quivery pucker. There’s a short reprise as Merlin applies more oil to his fingers before he massages the tight ring of muscle. 

My whimpers and mumblings turn into utter nonsense as he continues to work me into a hysterical mess. “Ready?” He breaths, his fingers still stroking my inner walls gently. I nod mutely and then his fingers vanish; I whimper in rebuttal. 

My eyes open and I hear the sound of another foil packet being opened, this time, however, Merlin returns to lay on top of me. “You sure about this?” He breaths into my ear. I nod my head and turn to capture his lips with my own. Merlin moans into my mouth as we kiss sloppily, his hips shifting above mine. His hands find purchase on my hips, then move to my thighs until he can draw my legs around his waist. 

We’re still kissing messily as I feel the tip of him enter me and I gasp; it speaks to his love for me that when we pushes forward slowly, but fluidly, there is no pain or discomfort, just a pleasurable tightness and sense of fullness inside me. He grunts as he’s completely enveloped by me and my breath leaves me as the weight of his body pushes it out of me. 

We go back to kissing; when I move to his neck and his shoulder I mewl at the things he starts to say in-between kisses. “So tight,” he says as he presses kisses into my neck. “Perfect.”

Merlin stays still, even when I begin to wiggle under him. I recapture his mouth in a searing kiss before I gently bit his lower lip. “Move baby,” I pant. “I want to feel you.”

Merlin does as I ask, and I lose my mind. He rocks in and out, nearly all the way at some points, but every time he sinks back into me I cry out in bliss. Merlin moans and groans, his hot breath and even hotter words teasing my mind as well as my body. “So sweet,” he pants onto my lips. I kiss him, then cry as he thrust back into me. “So precious,” he licks at my lips even as my mouth hangs open in a silent scream. “Love you so much.”

He picks up pace and I feel tears prick my eyes as a red hot chill in the depth of my belly threatens to burst. “Let go,” he whispers. “Come for me. Let me please you,” he begs. His words are enough to send me over the precipice that I was standing on; my muscles start to clench and unclench, my belly feels tight, and I feel each ring of muscle that surrounds Merlin within me. I make a guttural sound, then as the immediacy of the feels starts to calm I sigh heavily against his shoulder and I clutch his shoulder. While I am still convulsing, Merlin lets out a long moan and begins twitching within me. 

When there’s nothing but bliss and sweat that surrounds us, I kiss his cheek and use his blissfulness to my advantage. I apply a little pressure and manage to roll us over; without even unseating Merlin’s member, I lay on top of his chest. Merlin is still breathing heavily from his orgasm, so I kiss his chest as he tries to breathe evenly. “You.” I kiss his collarbone. “Are.” I nibble at his muscle. “Amazing.” I kiss the pebbled nipple. A breathy “Aah,” comes from Merlin’s open mouth and I continue my ministrations. 

“I love you,” Merlin says when he can breathe again, his eyes finding mine. 

I rest my chin on top of his chest, my fingers running over his chest lazily. “And I love you.” I see it in his eyes, the way he’s so peaceful he might just drift off to sleep. It’s a kind of love I never thought was possible, not that I would ever receive anything close to it. “One day,” I say, my hand reaching up to stroke his cheek. “We’ll do this without all the whats-its and doo-dads,” his eyes are still watching me even though we’re both drifting towards unconsciousness. “And we’ll welcome someone new into our lives.”

Merlin hums, his hand covering my own on his cheek. He brings it to his mouth and kisses my palm. “I don’t deserve you,” he says sleepily. “You’re the most beautiful thing in the world Arthur,” he sighs dreamily and his eyelids flutter closed. 

“Sleep,” I say as I pillow my hands under my chin. My eyes close and I tilt my head so I can press my ear to Merlin’s chest. The sound of his steady heartbeat lulls me into a sleep so peaceful that I think I might be in heaven. My Merlin. Safe, loving Merlin. He would love me as much as I love him, for as long as I wanted. And all I wanted was him, right here, in this place; our own little heaven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Should I change the rating now?   
> Also, this is a two chapter day so if you didn't notice you should go back and read the other chapter too.


	33. After Glow

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been so busy moving into my dorm and getting settled that I know you must think I've forgotten you, but I haven't and I never will. I have been working in all my spare time on updates. Here is a lovely, Merlin POV, fluffy chapter to tide you over as I continue to work on this in my time off. Give me lots of comments to read while I have some time. I love you all. Hope you like this chapter.

I wake to the soft sounds of Arthur mewling in his sleep, which is understandable since he’s shifted in his sleep; where he had been lying on my chest, his pressed against mine, now he had slid into the crook of my left side, his head softly propped up by my bicep and shoulder. It was my member though, the movement having brought it somewhat out of Arthur as he slept, that was causing him to sound so adorable as he snuggled into my side. And if I was honest the effects that Arthur’s shift in sleeping positions was having on me were quite enticing. But one look at Arthur’s sweet sleeping face as his face pressed between my shoulder and my pectoral muscle, and I knew I could never wake him just to satisfy my own desires. 

Slowly, and with as much self control as I’ve ever been able to muster, I gently extricate myself from Arthur’s lovely warmth and instead I turn my body so that I can hold him with an arm thrown over his waist. He makes another sleepy sound and I close my eyes in the hopes of that the movement wouldn’t wake him. 

When Arthur begins to shift under my arm my disappointment in myself grows, but when his lips placed a burning kiss to my collarbone everything else melts away. I keep my eyes closed as he works his way over my neck, sucking one particular spot until I can’t hold back the groan of desire that escapes my throat. 

He chuckles softly against my skin, his breath warm and dewy. I keep my eyes closed until he says “I knew you were awake,” softly as he wiggles a little closer. 

I open my eyes just as he brings himself up enough to kiss me; I moan into that hot, sweet mouth as he presses our chest together tightly. I feel lightheaded, completely awake in a matter of seconds, and my heart racing under his. 

“Mmm,” I smile as he pulls away from my mouth to press his lips chastely to the corner of my mouth and moves slowly back to my neck. “I hope I didn’t wake you; you looked so peaceful.” My hum of approval quickly turns into a moan of lust as Arthur returns his lips to that spot, it’s so tender that I think it might be directly attached to my lower spine. 

“I just wanted to thank you,” Arthur breaths as he presses his body length against my side. “Last night was amazing,” I inhale sharply as I feel Arthur’s hot length press into my hip. 

I can’t take it any longer, I surge up and over until I have Arthur giggling and on his back. I press a kiss to his shoulder and he inhales long and breathy. “If it was amazing then it was because you were ravishingly beautiful.” I press another kiss, this one to his collarbone. “My perfect other half,” I purr against his warm flesh. I move lower down his chest, my lips teasing at his skin; Arthur shudders beneath me but he remains quiet except for the heavy breaths coming from his parted lips. “Loving you is so easy,” I press a chaste kiss just above his pebbled nipple. 

The kiss slowly turns into a twirl of the tongue and soon enough I have Arthur arching his back and whining breathily as I suck on his hard little bud. “Merlin,” he sighs as I slow down my movements, having mercy on him after nearly five minutes. “Come here,” he pleaded. 

I crawled back up his body until I could capture his lips with my own, greedy to swallow up more of his sweet sounds. I lay my body on top of his, my hands tracing his arms until my hands can twine with his. We lay together, spread eagle, kissing until Arthur pulls his head away from me with a gasp, burying his face in my neck as he sucked down huge lungfuls of air. 

“God,” he pants, “I can’t believe you’re real.”

It’s as I’m trying to speak as well that I realize that I too can barely breathe. I have to take a minute before I can say what I want to. “I can’t believe,” I pant harshly into his ear. “How quickly you’ve stolen my heart.” 

I roll off of Arthur, to the side, and when Arthur makes a pouting sound I reach out for his waist to draw him into me; we spoon, my chin on Arthur’s shoulder and my arms wrapped securely around his waist. “Did I really steal your heart?” Arthur whispers, the early morning light coming in from the windows across the room falls across his golden hair that I’ve mussed up. 

I tighten my grip a bit, snuffling my nose closer to his ear. “I would have given it to you eventually,” I whisper softly before mouthing his earlobe. 

Arthur hums his approval, his hands finding mine and tangling our fingers together. “Do you think that we’re mates, like the council said?” He sounds sleepy, and to be honest, after all the time we’ve spent together, all I want to do is stay locked in this room with him. 

Unfortunately, our day was just starting. Or, at least, mine was. “I don’t know sweetling,” I say as I nuzzle his pulse point. “You still tired?” I ask concernedly. 

Arthur nods silently and with a peek over his shoulder I can see that his eyes are closed again, his breathing is evening out. “I told Mithian I would go out with her today,” I say softly in Arthur’s ear, my lips tickling him. A soft giggle escaping his sleepy form. “Will you be okay here if I go out for a while?”

Arthur’s eyes don’t even open as he nods and mumbles something along the lines of “anything you say”; his voice is so quiet I can barely make out his words. He’s half way back asleep already, his body is warm and pliant as I roll him into my chest so that his head is lolling against my shoulder as I run my hands over his back. He makes a content sound as my hands make their way to his blonde mop, my fingers twirling gently around his silky locks. He doesn't open his eyes, but I can feel his heart beat as I continue staring at his magnificent body as we lay there, tangled together. 

“I thought you were going,” he mumbles as his arms circle around my middle and he buries his head into my chest. 

I’m staring at his face; his eyes, though closed still dance under his eyelids and I wonder what he’s seeing behind them. “I don’t want to leave you,” I whisper into the space between us. Arthur purrs into my chest, the vibrations send a quiver to my heart and my arms instinctually tighten around him to draw him closer. 

“Just so long as Mithian won’t come bursting in here,” Arthur grumbles with a huge sigh as his moist mouth presses to my nipple absent-mindedly. 

I groan, because that is a terrible thought. Unfortunately, though Arthur is mostly asleep right now, he’s actually thinking more clearly that I am. As slowly as I possibly can I detangle myself from Arthur, taking extra care to situate him in a comfortable position among the pillows; when I was finally separated from him, I couldn’t help myself. I reached out to brush a lock of hair off of his rosy face, my fingers trailing over his cheek before I have to retract. I need to go, or I may never leave. And if Mtihian does barge into our room and wake my sleeping beauty then we’re going to have a volatile situation; Arthur’s in a vulnerable position, both physically and emotionally and I won’t risk ruining his first blissful moment. 

I slowly get up from the bed, carefully trying not to jostle the bed too much; Arthur merely murmurs and rolls onto his side from the position I had had him in-on his back-and pillows his face on his hands. I quietly walk around the bed so that his face is turned towards me, even if he is almost asleep; I watch him, until his breathing evens out and I’m sure he’s happily asleep again. I draw up the sheet around him, suddenly realizing just how naked we both were; Arthur’s arm sleepily grabs at the gentle touch of the fabric, drawing the sheet more snuggly around him. 

I smile, lean in to press a kiss to his warm, rosy cheek. “Love you,” Arthur burbles in his sleep, his face and lips reaching up for him. I stifle my chuckle and press a chaste kiss to those wanting lips. 

“Miss you,” I whisper in return as I straighten up and go about throwing on clothes. In a matter of minutes I’m dressed and regretfully ready to leave the room; Arthur, on the other hand, is sleeping sweetly where I left him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love getting comments because that's how I learn and grow. Please let me know what you think. I could use help with my smut because I'm a woman writing gay smut.


	34. Teacups of Regrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we see Gaius and Hunith having some deep conversation over a nice cup of tea. I hope you guys like this. I know, i know, the boys are just taking a little break, then they will be back and as adorable as ever. I promise.

“Oh Gaius,” Hunith’s soft voice is filled with concern as the older man came in the cafe door. She had been sitting in the cafe window, munching on finger sandwiches, and waiting for the old doctor; when he walked inside, she should see the weight weighing on him. She stood and walked to meet him as he saw her and began walking towards her; in the passed few days, while she was convalescing, she realized that Gaius had been working nonstop. 

“You look terrible,” she said as she wrapped her thin arms around him; she could feel the doctor slump against her with a huge sigh of relief. “Come sit, have tea and treats with me.” She released him, smiling softly as she looked at those tired eyes. 

She guided him over to the table that she had occupied before; she could feel how thin the doctor’s arm was she held onto his elbow and walked with him. “Have you already ordered the tea?” He asked, his voice thin and rough. 

They took their seats and as Gaius unfolded his napkin and placed it on his knees Hunith responded. “No,” she said softly, replacing her own napkin to her lap. “I got here early so I had a platter of sandwiches, you’re welcome to have some as we wait for the tea.”

Gaius smiled and reached for one of the leftover sandwiches; this was the first decent thing he had had to eat in nearly two weeks, and though it wasn’t exactly how he had planned on spending his time with Hunith, this was far better than anything that was going on at the Compound. As he slowly chewed on the cucumber, sweet bread, and spread he thought about the state of the Compound when he had left it just a few hours previously. 

He had had to make a stop at the Omega Post-Heat Ward to put a splint on one of William’s fingers; the poor boy had been bullied for the past few days and that morning had been the breaking point. As most of his peers were female, the evidence of his abuse had been mostly under the surface until his finger had been badly twisted until it had broken and dislocated. When he had entered the Ward and located William in one of the isolation rooms, the boy had been eerily quiet. Gaius had spent fifteen minutes actually tending to William’s injury and another few hours trying to get the boy to open up about the incident. In the end William had told the doctor that he would be fine, that he was “learning how things worked now” and Gaius assumed that he was referring to after-heat life as an Omega. He didn’t like the idea that the other Omegas had hurt the boy, but if William wouldn’t open up to him there wasn’t much he could do. He had left, reminding William that he could always ask for his help, and then prepared to leave for his meeting with Hunith. 

“You seem so far away,” Hunith’s concerned voice is what draws his attention back to the cafe. He’s vaguely aware that one of the waitresses is walking away from the table; Hunith must have put in an order for tea. 

“Yes,” he says, swallowing the bit of sandwich that he was still chewing methodically. “Well, it hasn’t been easy the last week or so.”

At this remark he could see the change in his companion’s demeanor change; Hunith was looking more like herself than the last time they had seen each other at the Compound, and yet now her eyes were filled with worry and the color drained from her. “Has something happened?” Her voice is so desperate and fragile. “Have they found Merlin?” 

The doctor shakes his head and holds up his hands, but he can see that instead of calming her worries it just seems to silence them; they’s probably a thousand questions still floating around in her head. “The teams have turned up nothing of either Arthur or Merlin; no, I was just thinking about my patients back at the Compound.” The sigh he gave was heavy and foreboding. 

“You always did have a very generous heart,” Hunith’s voice was as warm as he remembered it. “I could never understand why mother and father had left us with you all those years ago, but I know now. But you do not have to suffer this alone anymore Uncle,” she reached out and took the older man’s hand, twining their fingers until she could squeeze the man’s fingers. He sighed heavily, his shoulders sinking and his will power crumbling. 

“The facility is over crowded, even with the new legislature there aren’t enough quality resources for the patients to receive the things that they need.” He rubs his face with his free hand, exhausted both by dealing with the hardships as well as hiding them. 

Before Hunith has time to murmur any sort of support the waitress comes over to set the tea service before placing the tea pot in the center of the table. Gaius was temporarily stunned by the sweet smell of the lemon and herb of the tea, and then when the waitress placed a large tiered tray filled with a variety of scrumptious treats the poor man was dazed into silence. “Here,” Hunith took it upon herself to pour the tea. 

“Hunith,” the doctor began, reaching for the sugar dish. “I can’t be certain, but I have a feeling that Merlin is safe.” 

The woman looked up from her own teacup; her look of concern was still in place, but she seemed startled by this new information. “How can you be sure though?” She poured cream into her tea, stirring it automatically. 

Gaius hummed as he brought his teacup to his lips for a taste; it was warm, soothing, and full of lemon balm. When he returned the cup to its saucer, he looked at his niece. “It has been nearly a week and there are no signs of him; I haven’t had to sweep anything under the rug in days. From what I did get word of before everything went quiet they were headed toward the Sanctuary, which means there’s a very good chance that they’re safe now.”

Hunith’s eyes narrowed and she turned her attention to her tea; Gaius could see that she was considering this new information, so he too took to sipping his tea. He was in the midst of trying to decide which pastry to pick when Hunith poured herself another cup of tea with a mumble of discontent. “I know you think that this sanctuary could be a haven for Merlin, but it’s been what, thirty years since you were last in contact with this group?”

Gaius gave his niece a pointed look, but Hunith was a grown woman now, a mother who would do anything to care for her child, and she would not give him the satisfaction of cowering or retracting her thoughts; she looked him in the eye, her expression calm and determined. Eventually Gaius gave up, even his eyebrow tilt did nothing to calm the defiance in his once obedient niece. He picked up a petit four and placed it on the plate that sat next to his teacup and saucer. “It has been quite a long time, but it was their only hope.” His tone was flat, and he quickly followed his words with the tiny cake. 

Hunith nearly snorted in exasperation, but she quickly covered it up with a sip of her tea. “I need to know where he is; he isn’t a typical Alpha, surely you noticed that Gaius. I need to find my son so that I can tell him about his father-if he finds out from someone else, he’ll only have part of the story and he’ll never forgive me which means that he will never know everything that he needs to…” she took a breath, picking several different treats off of the tray and placing them on her plate. “You must tell me how to find him Gaius.”

Hunith began to methodically munch on her sweets, her eyes trained on the doctor across from her. Gaius was shocked at the demand in her voice; he shouldn’t have been surprised though, he hadn’t seen Hunith in nearly twenty years and a lot had changed in both their lives. “I’m afraid I don’t know where he is; I had a vague understanding of where some of the gateways were, but in the years of persecution they’ve become more and more reclusive. I have no way of contacting them and I’m sure that they’ve guarded the gateways with magic.”

Hunt tried to keep her expression as calm as she could, but there was no way of keeping her tone as evenly controlled. “Gaius what are these people like? You were there for only five years; if it was truly the utopia that you think it is, then why did you leave? Would they really keep Merlin and Arthur safe if they knew what I do of Merlin’s history… of his destiny?”

The doctor looked at his niece with sympathy; he had only wished to keep it to himself, but clearly it was something she needed to know. “My dear,” he began as he reached out a hand to take her’s. “I left when I heard word that your parents had been killed; I knew that there was no one else they would have trusted with the care of you and your siblings, so I left-against the recommendations of the Elders I might add.”

Hunith’s nostrils flared as she bit into a tart rather fiercely. “If you cannot help me, then you must know someone who might be able to.” Her tone was far more threatening than it had been only days before. 

“Please Hunith,” the doctor tried to sooth. “You’ve only just really recovered from this flu, you don’t want to be traipsing all over the mountainsides. Besides, I hadn’t told you this yet, but Uther Pendragon has employed some mercenaries to locate his son.” He saw the woman’s eyes widen in fear, suddenly flushed and flustered. “Knowing him, and how precious his reputation is to him, these will likely be devious men. If you were to be caught interfering with the search in any way, I would fear what they would do to you. Please Hunith,” he squeezed her hand again. 

This time, Hunith looked down at her teacup, her own shoulders sagging in despair. There came a muffled hiccup and, when she raised her head once more to look into her uncle’s eyes, her sapphire eyes were rimmed with red and tears were beginning their descent down her sharp cheek bones. “I feel so helpless uncle,” she weeped quietly as she returned his gentle squeeze. “First my son, my child, is taken away from me simply because he saved my life, and then I lose him once I have found him. I think my heart might break if I cannot find him.”

Gaius shushed her, taking her hand in both of his and holding them firmly; he made soft sounds, but he had never been very good at calming his niece. “Just stay in town, in fact,” he said, having a sudden idea. “You will stay in my apartment; no more spending your money on a hotel room when my apartment is vacant while I am at the Compound.” Hunith began to shake her head, and he knew she would because of that damn pride that her parents had always had. He released her hand in order to shove his hands into his coat pockets. 

“Here,” he said as he yanked the brass key out of his pocket and pressed it into her still open palm. “This is family Hunith, and I will not let you suffer through this as alone as I have been. You said that no one needed to suffer alone just a few minutes ago, and that includes you; you’ll stay, and that’s final.” He made his last word firm and demanding, but from the watery chuckle that his niece gave he knew that he had only managed to come off as foolish. 

“Alright,” she finally hiccuped, her head still hanging low. She closed her fist around the shiny piece of metal before stuffing it into her own coat pocket and then grasping desperately at her teacup. She brought it to her lips for a long draft before heaving a sigh heavy with concern. “Tell me more about y son Gaius; when you saw him, how was he? I want to know everything.” Her words were directed into her cup and her words barely a whisper; but the doctor would not shame her, for he knew the trials of being a single parent and always questioning the decisions made for your child. 

“I barely recognized him, he was so different than the last time I had seen pictures of him.” He smiled thinking back to when he had examined the slightly skinny Alpha. “I was surprised to find out that he had presented as an Alpha; he was just as meek and humble and kind as I remembered him, and that only added to my surprise. But, given that he is your son, I guess I should have known.” Hunith looks up, her eyes teary, but a proud blush on her cheeks. 

“My Merlin will always be a gentle soul,” she murmured as she went back to sipping her tea. 

“I believe you are right,” the doctor continued. “I was worried when I first noticed his interaction with Arthur because Arthur himself was in such a state, but your son…” The doctor paused, emotion clogging his throat. “Hunith,” the woman looked into those wise grey eyes. “Hunith, your son was so kind and gentle with that Omega. Even when he was clearly attracted and fighting his instincts was becoming difficult, he would simply sooth Arthur; I know that wherever they are that they will take care of each other. Take heart in that,” and with that he had to sip his tea in order to recollect himself. 

Hunith smiled softly, knowing that her uncle had already had a tough enough time at the Compound; they were together now, and even if Merlin was still missing at least she had found another piece of her family. They continued to enjoy their afternoon tea in a sort of all-consuming silence that they both needed; they did not bring up Merlin, Arthur, or the Compound for the remainder of their time, but they made small talk about the weather and about the villages they had lived in since they had seen each other last. When all was eaten and they both felt rejuvenated, Hunith paid the bill even against Gaius’s grumblings. 

When they were outside of the cafe, both standing next to their respective vehicles, Hunith could not bare it any longer and surged forward to capture her uncle in a tight hug. “Thank you Gaius, if it weren’t for you I don't know what would have happened to my Merlin. And you were right, together we will get through this. I’ll go to your apartment, but please if there is anything that I can do to help don’t hesitate to phone me.” 

Gaius smiled, reminded of the many times that she had wrapped her willowy arms around him as a child; he missed that girl, her carefree nature and her wild spirit, but he knew that now she was an equally strong woman. He patted her back and them loosened her grip so that he could hold her at a distance and see her face. “I will, and do take care of yourself. If there’s anything you need, my work number will be written on the refrigerator. Now,” he said in a sterner, more business like tone as he straightened up and cleared his throat. “Tea was lovely, but I must head back now, lots of patients to attend to.” 

Hunith watched as her uncle and her friend got into his economic car and pulled out of the parking lot to return to his duties at the Compound; she had never truly understood his desire to work in such a place, even if his motives were genuinely goodnatured. But even though she didn’t understand it, she certainly was grateful that he had been able to help Merlin. If only she knew where he was now; once again her mind drifted to the facts that she had yet to tell her son… If only she hadn’t gotten sick, maybe none of this would have happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think. There was a lot of stuff happening in the background (at least that's how it felt writing it). I want to know what your ideas are and what your guesses are and everything that you're thinking about this fic.


	35. Keep him Safe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin POV. nice and long chapter, longer than my typical chapters at the very least. This one is a big dose of angst just letting you know. Just keep in mind that Arthur is safely tucked in bed-for now- and that Mithian is a lot more caring than we first saw.

“Where’s lover boy?” Mithian teased softly as I came trundling down the stairs, still in the process of straightening the shirt I was wearing; I had thought that Mithian was still over at Catarina’s, but apparently it was later in the day than I thought. 

I put a finger up to my lips as I finish coming down the stairs; Mithian’s only response is to chuckle gleefully, so I grabbed her by the elbow and gently dragged her-still snickering-away from the stairs and into the den. When I’m sure that our voices won’t carry up the stairs I let go of her arm. “He’s sleeping in,” I whisper. Mithian’s face immediately flares with wicked glee; her mouth and eyes formed perfect circles, a light flickering behind her irises, and if it weren’t for the glare I gave her I’m sure she would have been jumping up and down squealing. 

A moment later, her voice high pitched and full of mockery, she grinned at me. “Tuckered him out, did you?” She giggled. “I had my money on him not giving it up till your mating ceremony; you must have really charmed the pants off of him.” I narrow my eyes at her in response, crossing my arms over my chest. 

It takes her a few minutes to compose herself, but eventually her giggles die down and her shit-eating-grin turns into a lightly mocking smirk. “So serious,” she chides softly wagging a finger in front of her face and pursing her lips. “What would your little lover think of that scowl?” There’s a moment when Mithian pulls a face, but it’s fleeting. 

“Mithian,” I say sternly. “You wanted to spend some time together, sans our Omegas, I thought this would please you.”

My remark brought her back to the moment, her face turning serious. “You’re right,” and her voice is hallow. “Come on, since you over slept it’s later than I planned. We should take the car so we don’t lose any more time.” She turned on her heel and starts back toward the stairs; the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, suddenly worried that she might make too much noise and wake up my sweet Arthur-she is wearing boots with a heel, my concern seems justified. However, as I race after her, I’m surprised at how softly both our footsteps are even on the polished marble of the entry way. 

Mithian notices my confused look as she glances at me over her shoulder; she grabs a set of keys off a hook by the front door before opening it and ushering me through. Once the door was closed behind us Mithian turned to me with a gleam in her eyes again. “I keep forgetting that you’re new to being an Alpha,” and she huffed out a chuckle with a shake of her head. “Your instincts kick in to take care of your Omega; you may have noticed that we didn’t make any sounds as we crossed the foyer, that’s just one of the perks-your voice will lower around a sleeping Omega, your heart rate will slow down, your body will regulate its temperature to suite them.”

“Just Arthur,” I ask curiously as she walks me over to an attached garage. “Or around any Omega?”

Mithian sighs dramatically as she unlocks the car and nearly shoves me into the passenger door before snapping the door closed and rushing over to the driver’s side. “Buckle up,” she snaps as she slides in and closes her door. “We can talk while I drive.” 

So, I clip my seat belt, and she tears out of the garage. My fingers dig into the seat cushion, but I keep my mouth shut as she pulls onto the road and we begin driving through Albion. “So,” Mithian says, so nonchalant about the fact that she’s blowing through intersections. “There are still so many things that you need to know, some of them because you’re an Alpha but others because you have Magic. It’s going to take a while, but you’ll get used to it. Not the Magic thing, that’s always going to freak you out, but the being an Alpha gets easier.”

“Where are we going?” I blurt out, seeing as I’m already completely disoriented and don’t recognize any landmarks; she’s been making turns, but I don’t even know which direction we’re heading. 

I catch Mithian rolling her eyes, then there’s a deep breath before she speaks again. “Consider it part of your Alpha training,” her voice is low and dangerous. “I though you wanted to know more about your Alpha abilities.”

I gulp down a huge breath. “Fine,” I sigh. “Tell me about Alpha stuff.”

Mithian continues driving. “I assume last night you didn’t knot your beloved Arthur, right?” 

She glances over at me briefly, but apparently my face was blank; for good reason, because I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. “Okay, I’ll take that as a no,” she says in awe. “Look there are certain things about Alpha and Omegas that makes their anatomy different than humans; when an Alpha and an Omega are in heat and in rut and they decide to…”

It was too much like the talk that mom had tried to have with me; I made a groaning sound that petered out into a whine. Mithian laughed uncontrollably for a moment, her own face turning pink, her cheeks blotching with strawberry stains. ‘Sorry,” she choked after a moment. “You’re wound so tightly, geez; it’s too easy.”

I grumbled and shifted so I didn’t have to look directly at her anymore; instead I stared out the windows of the BMW sports car that Mithian is driving. “Okay, sorry mister sensitive, I’ll be serious now.” I glare at her over my shoulder; she gives me a sickly sweet smile and I huff and settle back into the seat. “Look when you and Arthur have sex when you’re both going crazy on hormones this thing happens; Alphas have this gland, there’s some fancy scientific name for it, but even the doctors just call it the knot. It swells up when you’re inside your Omega, ready to finish, and locks you two together…” She trails off.

I look over at her and she’s quiet, her eyes trained on the road in front of her; she slows down the car as we pull onto a gravel road. It’s long, narrow, and I can’t see what’s ahead of us with the dust that the gravel is throwing up as the wheels grind against it. “We’re almost there now,” and her voice is dark, like she’s trying to control it. 

“You were telling me about Alphas and their knot,” I say quietly, trying to bring her mind back to what we had been talking about.

Her eyes snap onto me for the briefest of moments; they’re cold and hard and even though it’s only for a second I tense up, every muscle along my spine stiffens until I’m sitting bolt up right. “It’s a reproductive thing, you know,” she says icily. “For making pups, so be careful; those condoms aren’t really a sure thing if you’re dealing with a knot.”

“Oh,” I say, not sure of what I had expected her to say; still, I think, this sounds like something that could hurt Arthur and we’ve only just chosen to be intimate… I can’t imagine doing that with Arthur, so I have a hard time grasping it in my mind. 

“Yeah,” Mithian says bitterly as she stomps on the brake; gravel goes spitting around the car. I can’t help the yelp that I emit as she calmly undoes her belt and pushes her way out of the car door, taking the key with her. I follow suit, surprised and confused as I practically fall out the passenger side door. When I struggle to get upright again, my feet slipping over the gravel, Mithian is standing in front of me, her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes and chin were staring over my shoulder. “Yeah, Oh,” she echoes. 

“Mithian,” I ask cautiously, unsure of what to expect with my cousin. “What’s going on?”

“Merlin,” she says, her eyes still lost in some far away place; eventually, slowly, her eyes came to find mine. I give her a questioning look, my eyebrows raised in almost fearful shock. “You need to know what happens to Omegas that are abandoned by their Alphas or their families. You can’t let this happen to your Arthur; I fought so hard to keep Cat out of this place once she found out she was pregnant. Don’t make the same mistakes that we did; try not to get pregnant without getting mated first…”

“What are you talking about Mithian?” I take a step closer to her; her eyes falling to her shoes, her shoulders shifting stiffly, and a huge sigh escaping her clenched jaw. I put my hands gently on her elbows, trying to get her to look at me, but she just shifts her weight from one foot to the other. “You and Cat are so in love, it’s obvious to anyone; you can’t think of it as a mistake.”

She huffed a mirthless laugh, her eyes coming up to meet mine finally; her eyes seemed void of spark and something about it made me nervous. “It’s not that, Merlin,” and she reciprocated my comfort with her own hand on my elbow. She gently turned me around so I was facing the same direction as her. “Look Merlin,” she says in a small voice. 

The building that stands a little behind the car, up a cement pathway and a few steps, is a faded grey panel warehouse sitting in the middle of an overgrown lot surrounded by a cinderblock wall on three sides and with dilapidated buildings scattered around in worse shape than I had ever seen buildings. I thought that perhaps with the gravel that we were headed deeper into the countryside, but no; this area of Albion seemed rather abandoned. There weren’t many windows, but from what I could tell the building was three stories; and from the movement behind those windows, this place was obviously filled with people. 

“What is this place?” I ask in awe, moving away from Mithian and around the car to get a better look. “It doesn’t look safe.” 

Mithian stays where she’s standing, that much I can tell even as I step closer to the building; her voice sounds far away when she speaks next. “This is the Omega House,” her voice is empty except for the echo of sorrow. “This is where they send them,” she continued in a forced sort of way. “The ones who have no one to take care of them.”

I turn my head, my face pinched in confusion. “Those are Omegas in there?” My voice is low and uncertain of whether I’m understanding what she’s saying. 

“Not simply Omegas,” she says with a shake of her head. “Pregnant Omegas.”

I look back at the building, with its peeling paint and patched up walls. “Are we going inside?” I feel a wave of trepidation run along my spine. 

Mithian takes a few steps closer to me. “I think we should, so you know what you’re saving Arthur from; it’s going to make you sick though, just letting you know.”

Mithian sighs heavily and steps in front of me; each step she takes seems to take enormous effort, but she leads us up the pathway and steps until we’ve finally reached a set of dingy double doors made of some sort of heavy-duty fake wood. I stay behind her, watching and taking in the details around me; the closer I get to the building the less it feels like a safe place to live, and the less I like imagining Arthur in this place. There’s a faint odor of dirty laundry and hormones hanging in the air which makes my nose crinkle and miss my Arthur’s clean sweet scent. Once we had made it all the way to the doors, Mithian’s hand shot out and rapped on the surface and recoiled as if it had burned her. 

“Whatever you do,” she whispered as we waited on the front steps. “Stay calm and remember that you cannot take any of them home.”

Before I had a chance to respond, the door swung open, a thin old women in a faded blue house dress and stained apron held the door open as Mithian and I stepped into the foyer. I think I would have run away if it hadn’t bee for Mithian there with me. The interior was just as run down as the outside, with dust and dirt covering the floor as well as the tops of the furniture; the foyer was a cramped space, barely able to contain the three of us. 

“Are you here to visit someone?” The woman’s voice was raspy, which went with the scent of cigarette smoke that clung to her.

I was about to open my mouth to say no, that we were just here to look around; that’s what I thought we were here for, but before I could breathe Mithian was already saying something. “Guinevere de Lac please,” and her voice is sorrowful. 

The woman makes a noise of acknowledgement and then slunk around us, leaving us in the foyer as she ascended a set of rickety stairs that were the one of the only two exits out of the room; there was a narrow doorway next to the stairs, and from what I could see it was a long, dark hallway with a flickering light at far at the end of it and the stairs turned equally dark halfway up. Once the old woman had disappeared into the gloom of the second floor, I turned to look at Mithian. 

“You know someone here?” I’ve heard my voice filled with surprise too many times today, it sounds like a stranger’s voice. 

Mithian looks away, her arms wrapping around herself, and I’m not surprised because this building is so drafty that I can hear the light breeze whistling through it just as we stand there. “Gwen and I became fast friends when we first came to Albion,” she chuckles lightly at something I am not privy to. “Cat was so jealous of her at first, but then once Gwen found the love of her life the four of us became the closest friends.” She shuffles her feet, toes at the dust bunny that’s clinging to the point of her boot, just staring. “Gwen married Lance de Lac almost a year ago,” her voice is starting to grow rough. “They found out that they were pregnant six months into the marriage…”

The choke of Mithian’s voice is followed by the clearing of her throat; I can see memories clouding up her eyes. “Lance was so excited about being a father.” The tears in Mithian’s eyes and the sharp squeak of her voice made me go to her; I put a hand on her shoulder, but she just stood there, staring at the ground. “It was a freak accident at his work,” she sniffled, trying to get a hold of her emotions. “But Gwen had no legal options after that; I made a legal request to bring her into my family,” there was a growl to her words. “They refused me, sent her here; I try to visit her as much as possible.”

Mithian has barely enough time to whimper, sniffle, and wipe at her eyes before the old woman is coming back down the stairs; Mithian straightens up, matching the woman’s cold look. “Go on up,” she croaks. “But try not to tire her out too much, she’s got chores to do.” And the woman turns to head down the hallway without another word. 

Mithian shakes off my hand before taking a shaky step forward the stairs. “Come on,” she says without looking back at me. “I know which room is hers.”

I follow Mithian up the stairs quietly. She leads me down a hallway with peeling wallpaper and mismatched doors lining it; we come to a door that looks like it was once painted pastel pink, but now it looks sickly and out of place. “Here we are,” Mithian says before she takes a firm grip on the doorknob. 

I give Mithian enough space to open the door enough to stick her head in. “Gwen?” her voice has a forced sweetness. There’s a muffled response from inside the room and Mithian opens the door even more. I follow her inside the cramp room that’s lit by one lamp that’s sitting on a tiny table next to a squeaky bed. 

“No, no,” Mithian chides lovingly. “You rest, I’ll sit at the foot of the bed.” As my eyes adjust to the lighting I understand why Mithian’s demeanor has suddenly changed; I should have put two and two together. The woman who is settling back into a reclining position on the bed is extremely round with children; the loose and flowing dress that’s fanned out around her swollen stomach is threadbare and patched, but her ankles are crossed and her hands are clasped over her baby bump and her round face is smiling as Mithian comes to sit across from her on the bed. 

“Who is this?” the happily pregnant woman pipes up as Mithian settled into a criss-crossed position on the bed. 

“This is my cousin Merlin,” Mithian chirped. “You remember I told you about him, he’s the one who decided when he was four that he was going to invent a new type of chocolate.” 

Both women burst into subtle giggles. “He seems a bit stiff,” Gwen remarked. “Come on Merlin, come sit on the bed with us.” I gave the creaky thing a wary   
look. “Oh come now don’t worry, you look as if you weight about as much as a loaf of bread.”

I succumbed to her wishes, seeing as she was pregnant and demanding. I sat gingerly in between the two of them. Mithian scoots a little closer to her friend, her fingers reaching gently to skim over Gwen’s straining belly. “And how are our girls today?” she cooed. 

Gwen giggled again but it petered out into a tired sigh. “We’re good, if good means she’s sitting on mommy’s bladder today meaning she has to go to the bathroom every twenty minutes. But you know, I managed to switch chore assignments with one of the other girls; I get to work in the kitchens now, which means I can sneak snacks as much as I want.” 

Mithian stroked over Gwen’s baby bump. “I’m glad that you’re doing well; no change in the due date, right?” Gwen made an agreeable sound and nodded. “I can’t wait to meet them. Sorry I wasn’t able to visit the last few days, but I was a little preoccupied saving this one,” Mithian shoved my shoulder playfully. “Turned out it was a two man rescue; he was running away with this sweet little Omega he’d been watching over at the Compound.”

We spent the next twenty minutes chatting; I became the subject of most of the stories that Mithian was telling, so I stayed quiet for the most part. Gwen was lovely, even though I could tell that she was growing uncomfortable in her perpetually growing state; when the baby began to move, the stories came to a halt and Gwen took hold of one of each of our hands and placed it on her rounded middle. Mithian smiled like a fool while I gawked in amazement, the movement beneath her skin fluttering under my palm taking the breath out of my lungs. However, eventually Gwen grew tired and Mithian insisted that we leave before the keeper of the Omega House had to come and kick us out. Gwen let me know it was lovely to meet me, while I in returned told her that she was going to make a wonderful mother, instead of smiling as I thought she might something crossed behind her eyes. Mithian moved quickly enough though, because she swooped in to hug Gwen which instantly returned the smile and glow to her face. 

“Cat wants to come by and see you soon too,” Mithian said as she released Gwen from her embrace. 

“Are you still being super duper uber Alpha pain in the butt with her?” Gwen quipped, but it lacked punch. 

Mithian made a strangled sound. “No, okay, maybe; but she’s been kind of emotional lately when we’ve tried coming together. She just needed some time I think.” Gwen nods her head and rubs her stomach. “Get some rest now sweetie,” Mithian gives her one last hug before ushering me out the door. 

Mithian practically pushes me until I’m tumbling back into the passenger seat, Mithian slamming the door shut behind me. When she was situated back in the driver’s seat, she was panting heavily; it took me a moment to realize that it wasn’t from rushing me to the car. The tears flowed down her cheeks, the whining sobs that shook her shoulders made my heart clench. There was no stopping it that it had started; Mithian just clenched her eyes shut and wailed. I tried to sooth her, but nothing calmed her. 

Eventually, with a final rasping breath, Mithian’s tears stopped; her body still shook wth fits of sorrow, but she seemed to be coming back to herself. I continued to says soft things, until she turned her red eyes onto me; her face was blotchy and swollen, tear stains covering much of her cheeks, and looking overall exhausted by the emotional outburst. “You have to promise Merlin,” she managed to choke out. She grabbed the hand that I had placed on her shoulder for comfort, her grip was stiff and cold. “Promise that Arthur will never end up here; you’re going to take care of him, right?”

I nod my head, mutely wondering if she ever really thought that it was possible that I would let Arthur go, that I would stop caring enough to let something like that happen. “I promise,” I say in a strangled voice as I return her grip. “I’ll keep him safe.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... What do you think? Was it worth it? I know I had you guys waiting a little bit-school is a big time eater, so you'll have to be patient with me. I wrote this all in like a day and a half. Let me know if there was anything that didn't make sense, I am always here to answer questions about the story if something doesn't make sense.


	36. Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's POV. we meet another familiar name, maybe not exactly the same character as in the show, but somewhat. We get to see Arthur find his legs in this new world of theirs. He's a tough Omega. He just has to remember. And get past Uther's bullshit that he fed him.

I don’t wake up to kisses, which is what I was dreaming of; Merlin, his hands running over the dip between my ribs and my hip, his lips fluttering over my neck and shoulder. Instead I wake up with a jolt; my head is spinning as I sit bolt upright, my skin warm from sunlight as it slants across the room, and the bed around me huge and empty. The pang of longing for Merlin was aching through my muscles, making me feel weak and uncoordinated even as I sit among the strewn linens and pillows. I fall back with an audible “oomph”, the pillows puffing up around my head, and I ran a hand over my face. 

I vaguely remember Merlin whispering something in my ear before he left, something about going out with Mithian; but how long ago was that? I glanced around the room from my vantage point of lounging among the pillows; the room was tidy except the bed, and at the thought of the bed my mind wandered back to last night with Merlin. I knew that I must have a stupid grin on my face, my hand suddenly finding its way to my mouth to trace the ghost of Merlin’s lips on mine; and yet, there was no one here to judge me, and even just the memory of Merlin was enough to make me feel safe. 

I daydreamed until I was too flushed and warm to function properly, and seeing as how Merlin wasn’t back yet I decided to wash up and get dressed. The shower was as amazing as I remembered, but as I ran the soap over my skin I couldn’t avoid the feeling that today I was slightly different; it wasn’t as if Merlin had made any sort of promise to me, but somehow I felt closer to him already. When I was clean and dry I took advantage of the variety of clean clothes in the closets; I was still feeling fatigued from the exertion, so I chose a really soft pair of sweatpants and a henley the color of cream. 

It was after I was dressed, as I was combing my damp hair, that I started to feel uneasy at the realization that I was going to need to venture outside this room; the need was slowly out weighing the alternative as my stomach was beginning to tighten at the emptiness that it was suffering. I wished Merlin was here, but remembered that until a week or so ago I had only had myself to rely on; I could handle going to the kitchen to find food, I had handled so much more before Merlin was here to protect me. So when I felt as if I was as presentable as possible, I turned and strode right to the door and opened it before I could stop and think about it. 

The house was cast in a dying sunlight, so the walls were bathed in ruby and orange chinks of warm light as I walked through the upstairs hallway and to the stairs; my limbs weren’t exactly responsive, so I mostly shuffled along quietly. I made sure to hold on tightly to the banister so I wouldn’t trip and fall down the stairs, but I still stumbled as I landed on the ground floor; the foyer and the den were quiet, but I could smell something that was making my stomach rumble. 

I followed my nose through the den to a swinging door that I hadn’t noticed the other day; I gently pushed against the polished wood until I squeezed my head through and peeked around. Inside, there was a huge, spacious kitchen with windows letting in the sunset from two sides; and standing at the kitchen island, mixing something that looked a lot chocolate cake batter, was a nimble blonde girl with her eyes focused on the sugar she was measuring. 

“Did I wake you?” She asked, her eyes still trained on the measuring cup and fine white powered. “I didn’t mean to, but I didn’t want you to wake up and there to be nothing for you to eat.” She finished pouring the sugar and set the pink and white paper bag back on the counter. Her huge, round green eyes stood out like emeralds against her fair skin and framed in her gold ringlets. 

“You can come in if you want,” she said, her voice quiet and her thin fingers picking up the wooden spoon that was sticking out of the batter bowl. 

I took careful steps inside, letting the door swing behind me; as I came closer it became obvious that the girl was much smaller than I had first thought and that she was clearly younger. “Are you Arthur?” she smiles slightly as I slide awkwardly onto a stool across the island from her. “Mithian says that Merlin looks like here-dark hair and white skin, but you look nothing like that.” She begins stirring the batter absent-mindedly. 

“Yeah,” I said, my voice still rough with sleep. I cleared my throat and then smiled. “I’m Arthur, it’s nice to meet you…”

“Morgause,” she finished as she began to slowly pour the sugar into her batter. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

I nodded quietly as I watched her mix her batter. “What are you making?” I was just trying to make small talk, but the more I sat there and watched her working on the batter the hungrier I became. 

“A chocolate chocolate chip cake with chocolate cream cheese frosting,” she says, her eyes going back to her bowl of batter but a grin clearly playing across her face even with her eyes turned down. “I wanted to get the cake in the over so that it’ll be cool enough to frost, but once it’s in the oven I’m going to start working on dinner.”

I smile, because its clear from the way that she’s trying to control the joy in her voice. “You like cooking.” I say and she looks up at me through her fan of shimmering gold lashes. 

Before she can say anything my stomach lets out a distinct growl of hunger, there’s a moment where my cheeks pink up in the aftermath; but in the next moment we’re both laughing hysterically. “I knew you would be hungry when you woke up,” she says and she abandons her cake batter and turns around to reach for the refrigerator handle. Morgause opened the door, a chill running over my skin, and reached inside before producing a plate covered in plastic wrap. 

“Here,” she said cheerily, a bright smile on her dimpled face. She reached over the island, placed the plate in front of me, and peeled the plastic wrap off; the plate was large, oval, and covered in a variety of scrumptious looking treats. My mouth fell open, watering slightly, as I looked at all the things that were sitting on the plate in front of me; there were wedges of cheese, slices of cured meats, carrot sticks, grapes, tiny tomatoes, wedges of apple, olives, a nest of tiny cheese balls, and some small pickles. As I was gawking at the plate of food, Morgause must have gone to a cabinet; she placed another smaller plate in front of the first and poured a cascade of crackers onto it. “You can keep me company while I cook.” I looked up at her, my look of awe turning into a brilliant smile. 

“Thank you,” I grab one of the grapes and pop it into my mouth; as soon as my teeth pierce the taut fruit flesh, my mouth is flooded with sweet and tart sensations. I groan in mild delight as Morgause giggles and goes back to the cake batter. 

Morgause is nearly finished with the cake batter as it turns out; she gives it a few more stirs and the pulls out two round pans that are buttered and floured; by the time she’s finished putting them in the over and whipping up the frosting I’m a quarter of the way through my snack plate, which is difficult to tell since I’ve been trying a little of everything on the plate and munching on the crackers. But, I watch as Morgause swaps out the bowl of frosting for a parcel wrapped in brown paper and twine.

“What’s that?” I ask, my cheeks full of sweet creamy brie cheese and salami; i duck my head in embarrassment as I try to chew and swallow quickly and quietly. 

Morgause just giggles, puts the package down on her work station and goes back to the refrigerator. “Here, don’t choke; Merlin would kill me if you choked to death.” She hands me a water bottle with a sweet smile before heading back to the fridge to gather up more ingredients. “I thought you and Merlin would appreciate some comfort food so I thought I would make meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans.” Her head is buried deep in the fridge as her voice echoes out of it. 

I think I might whimper just a little, and I can’t tell if its because of the marinated mozzarella that’s melting on my tongue or how amazing that dinner sounds; Morgause pulls her head out of the fridge, her arms laden with different ingredients as well as a bowl of eggs grasped in one hand with other things balanced on top of that. She carefully put down the different items around the package wrapped in brown paper, her smile sunny as she starts to unwrap the paper package; inside there are two separate packets, those are each filled with some sort of ground meat-ah, I think, the base for any good meatloaf. I watch as Morgause gracefully unwraps the packets of meat and plops them into a large glass bowl and then start adding in a variety of other things; she stops to chop up some tomatoes and dice some white onion. 

“Wow,” I say as I chew on an olive. “You haven’t even really started cooking yet and it already smells so good.”

She smiles as she focuses on the garlic that she’s mincing now. She scrapes the entire pile of chopped up vegetation into the bowl with the meat and then proceeds to crack a couple of eggs into the bowl as well. “I love to cook; it’s the only good thing that I remember about my mother.” She says as she reaches into a cupboard behind her. She takes a roll of saltine crackers out, crushes them, then bumps them into the bowl. 

I chew a little slower. “Mithian said something about your mother; I’m sorry.” I pick up a cracker and start to chew on it while I watch Morgause roll up the sleeves of her shirt before turning to the sink. 

“It was a long time ago,” she says over the sound of rushing water. She washes her hands, ties an apron around her, and steps back in front of the bowl of meatloaf-fixings. “I try to remember just the good parts, like the way she used to make holiday dinners completely from scratch.” Her voice remains calm, even as she lets her hands dive into the bowl and start squishing the mixture together; I can’t tell if there’s a little too much vigor in her movements, but even if there is I think that maybe Morgause deserves the catharsis. 

She’s still squishing the mixture when I decide that I’ve had enough food for now, so I stand up slowly and move around to the other side of the island. “Is there anything that I can do to help,” my voice is soft as I inch towards the cooking station that Morgause has set up. “I always wanted to help my mother in the kitchen, but my father hated the idea.” My voice caught as I struggled to finish what I wanted to say. “Then when he found out I was an Omega I never got to see her again, so I never really got to spend any time in a kitchen.”

I came to stand right next to Morgause with a heavy sigh; I was at least half a foot taller than her, so my head was bowed as I looked down at her. “Well, there’s not a lot you can do to mess up peeling potatoes,” she giggled. “But just don’t knick yourself,” her eyes suddenly going serious. “Merlin will never forgive me.”

We both chuckle at that, because I think we both know that I could never really do much harm with a vegetable peeler. So as Morgause starts to form the meatloaf in its pan I rummage through drawers until I find a peeler and then go to the cupboard that Morgause points to; I set to work peeling five pounds of potatoes. It’s easy enough to get the hang of, soon enough the pile of peeled potatoes is growing at a fairly steady rate. I don’t even notice that Morgause has finished with the meatloaf until I hear the over door open and close; the intoxicating smell of chocolate cake wafts through the kitchen as she swaps out the cake for the meatloaf. 

“You’re almost done there,” she says happily over my shoulder a few minutes later. She starts filling a huge pot with water; soon, the potatoes are heading into the pot and Morgause is wiping off the last of the counter that we were using. “Everything’s cooking,” she says with a satisfied sigh. “We should rest before we have to mash the potatoes. Want to see what’s on the telly?”

The friendly, pleading look on her face is enough to melt my reservations. I nod and Morgause bounces as she heads out of the kitchen and into the den; I follow slowly behind her, chuckling at my own sentimentality. When I come through the swinging door Morgause is already curled up on one of the sectional couches with a remote sitting in her lap. “Come sit next to me Arthur,” she smiles, patting the couch next to her absently. “A movie’s just starting.”

I settle onto the cushion next to the happy little girl; the movie was something silly and girlie, but eventually the warmth and comfort and exhaustion of the day before came rushing through me. I don’t remember curling up on the couch, a throw pillow tucked under my cheek; the smell of chocolate cake occasionally tickles my nose, but I’m lulled by the soft voices from the television. It isn’t until a soft warmth fills the void between my back and the back of the couch that I feel my eyelids flutter; I hum in contentment as I feel it curl around my midriff. 

“Took you long enough to get back,” I mumble as he tightens his arms around me until we’re flush from head to toe; I can feel his lips in my hair. 

“I missed you so much,” and just the sound of Merlin’s voice makes me moan as I press back into him. 

“Don’t leave again, yeah?” I say lightly as I stretch but I don’t open my eyes; I want to savor this.

“Promise,” and his voice is seriously and presses his lips into my hair. “I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? How do you feel? Any questions? I love getting comments. I love all of you. School is hard, but I'm so inspired to write all the time.


	37. For Him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello lovely people. This week has been crazy and I was hit with a spark of inspiration for my other fiction so I had to dedicate some time to that ( not that I had a lot of free time with college in full swing now). And here we are. Another chapter, this one is Merlin POV. We meet another new character. I hope you like it. It is a little shorter, but also hopefully sweeter.

I hold onto Arthur as he sleeps on the couch; I hold onto him as he presses back into me and makes happy sounds in his chest, but it’s still not enough. He falls deeper into sleep for a while, the warmth rolling off of him starts to calm the trembling that I feel in my limbs; I hold him tighter, but even as I press myself against him from head to toe, I can’t close my eyes. Eventually, Arthur’s stomach starts to make little whining noises and he starts to shift in his sleep; I’m not surprised, the dinner that Morgause told me about when we got back smells amazing now that it’s almost done. A couple of times Mithian comes into the den to check on me, but one look in my eyes and she just simply nods and leaves the room. 

Arthur groans along with his stomach and turns in my arms, his hands coming up to press against my chest; his head tucks under my chin, the scent of his hair and him makes the last of my tremors fade away. “Smells good,” he mumbled; I can’t tell if he means me or the food that’s just about done and ready to eat, so I chuckle and kiss his cheek. “Tickles,” he responds with softly as he smiles.

“You hungry?” I whisper; my hands running up and down his back now that he’s facing me, and at the mention of food Arthur’s back arches like a bow with a full body stretch and a quiet “mmhmm”. His eyes are still closed as his body goes limp again. “You’re going to have to open those amazing eyes.” I’m surprised at the raw desire in my voice, it comes out as a soft growl. 

Arthur’s eyelids flutter before I’m drowning in those crystal clear blue orbs; his face is so open, so calm, that I can’t not tighten my arms around his waist and press a kiss to his forehead. “I’m sorry I left you alone,” I murmur into his hair. “I missed you.”

Arthur tilts his head to press his parted lips to my adam’s apple. “You’re here now,” his voice so sweet. “That’s what matters,” and he takes a deep breathe which is immediately followed by a huge yawn. “Besides, I was asleep for most of it and the rest was spent in the kitchen.” I hear a soft giggle. “Speaking of which,” I feel his smile against my neck. “Can we eat now?” The tiny whine in his voice is beyond adorable. 

I smile at him, then I have a wicked idea; Arthur’s eyes go wide, probably as he notices the change in my smile. In a smooth, swift motion I roll over Arthur, until we’re both tumbling softly onto the carpet; I land on my back, bringing Arthur falling gracefully onto my front. There’s no pain, no more than a gasp of surprise from Arthur, and lots of laughter which is soon dissolving into kisses. Eventually Arthur’s stomach rumbles again though, and he pulls back with a grin; I run a hand through his hair. “You’re beautiful, you know that?” I say softly. 

Arthur just grins wider, shakes his head and sits back on his haunches. “No,” he says as I look up at him. “I’m hungry though. Come on,” and then he’s scrambling up to his feet. By the time I’m on my feet Arthur was already standing at the kitchen door, looking back at me with a toothy smile just as he’s about to push through and rush into the next room. 

I chase Arthur until we’re both skidding onto the kitchen tile floor, almost crashing and tumbling to the floor again, but still giggling furiously. It takes us a moment to realize that we’re not alone in our laughter; I instinctually wrap my arms around my Arthur before I look around the kitchen. I relax as I see Mithian and Morgause laughing behind the kitchen island, both working on plating up the food. Arthur’s still smiling and chuckling under his breath as I hold him from behind with my chin on his shoulder. 

“I see you’re both awake,” Mithian manages as she adds a dollop of butter to a fluffy pile of potatoes on one plate. “You hungry?”

“Yes,” Arthur and I chime together. 

“Make sure that you serve them enough dear,” a deep voice from the opposite corner of kitchen draws my attention. My eyes snap onto the tall, well built man with the salt and pepper hair and dark rimmed half moon specks. He’s looking down his nose at a newspaper, his legs crossed as he sits elegantly at the breakfast table; his gaze flickers up just long enough to nod at Arthur and I. “Hello Merlin,” he says and swiftly folds his paper up and places it on the table. “And you must be Arthur.” He stands up; he’s a towering figure with broad shoulders that tapers to a narrow waist, his blue heather suit is filled nicely. 

“Merlin do you remember my dad, it’s been a long time?” Mithian’s voice was happy as she spoke from the kitchen island behind me. 

“Please,” the man took a step forward, extending his hand; I curled more tightly around Arthur. “I’m Uncle Cenred.” He steps even closer, but I pull Arthur back a step and I don’t respond. Uncle Cenred merely chuckles. “You were right Mithian, they’re so much like you and Cat; he’s so protective of his sweet little Omega.”

Suddenly Mithian is by my shoulder, a hand firmly tugging at my attention. “Merlin,” she hisses in my ear so Arthur can’t hear. “Merlin, it’s okay now; you’re here with Arthur, he’s safe, there’s no reason to be so aggressive.” Her words are enough to shake me out of the stark fear that had crept back into my mind. I wasn’t at the Omega House and neither was my Arthur; we were both safe. 

I release Arthur who makes a small annoyed sound until I press a quick kiss to his lips; then I turn back to my Uncle. I take his hand and give it a squeeze. “Sorry Uncle, it’s been a bit of a tough transition. And I think maybe Mithian is right, it has been a long time; I think I was just startled.”

He nods and smiles before turning to Arthur; his gaze flickers back to me for a moment, but I simply reach for Arthur’s other hand as Uncle offers his hand to Arthur for a shake. “Hello Arthur,” he says gently, as if he’s speaking to a child. “You’ve got a good Alpha there, don’t you? He’ll keep you safe no matter the cost I believe.” Arthur turns rosy cheeked as he shakes my Uncle’s hand and then swiftly turns to cling to me and bury his face in my neck where it remains warm. 

Mithian has returned to Morgause’s side. “Come now, it’s time for dinner.” She says and she and her sister take the plates through a door opposite the one that we’d come through. Uncle Cenred follows behind them quietly, leaving Arthur and I alone in the kitchen. 

“You okay?” I ask as I stroke down his back slowly. “I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

Arthur’s head pops up, his blue eyes finding mine; he shakes his head for a moment. “No,” he says and his voice is wrecked. “You didn’t scare me.” He tightens his arms around my neck, his fingers lacing together. “I like when you hold onto me, especially when…” He takes a shuddering breath. “I was scared, he startled me, and my first thought was of you. And then you were there, all around me, so gentle and yet so tight. I was safe. You made me safe.” The tears are almost invisible, but I see them shimmering on his lashes. 

I hug him to me and take long slow breaths. “Don’t be scared,” I murmur to him as he gasps against my shoulder. “You shouldn’t have to be scared any more. We’re here. We’re together. You and me Arthur, the rest of it is just the things that try to get between us. And I won’t let them.”

He leans back a bit in my arms, possibly to look into my eyes, but I don’t let him. I steal his lips in a heated kiss that Arthur quickly opens his mouth to. I would have kept on kissing him till the world burned down around us, but Mithian called from the other room. “If you don’t come now we’re going to eat your food,” and Arthur’s hunger over rides my desires, because I need him to be happy and healthy. 

“Coming,” I call a second later, even as Arthur’s eyes are still glazed over and staring at me like I’m the most dazzling thing in the world. Doesn’t he know? That’s him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love feedback, please leave me a comment or some love or suggestions or advice.


	38. Family Dinners and Chocolate Cake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's POV, lots of fluff, a tease, a new character, and of course the infallible Mithian. I can't wait to hear what you think of this chapter.

I followed Merlin through the door and into an elegant dining room, his hand twined with mine; I found comfort in seeing both Mithian and Morgause’s familiar faces smiling at us as we entered, but there was Cenred at the head of the table and another far younger man was seated on his right with his back to us. There were plates set out next to the boy, across from Mithian and Morgause; Merlin gently lead me closer to the table, my apprehension of the new faces slowly being overwhelmed by my hunger. Merlin’s perfect enough to know that I’m more than a little uneasy about the strangers at the table, so he pulls out the empty seat furthest away from the young man and gestures for me sit down. Once I’m seated, Merlin takes the seat next to me, putting himself next to the stranger. 

“Well,” Cenred’s rumbling voice draws my attention away from the plate in front of me, even if my mouth is watering. “I think we should enjoy this before it gets cold, so before we start a quick thank you to our wonderful cooks this evening.” He pauses to smile at Morgause, then turns his gaze to me; my cheeks heat up and I try to focus only on Merlin’s eyes on me and not the rest of the table. “Morgause, Arthur, thank you for this wonderful meal before us.”

I turned back to the plate of food in front of me, my cheeks burning now; my heart hammers until I feel Merlin’s warm, slender fingers seek my own as I clasp them in my lap. As Merlin’s hand settles into an easy tangle with my own in my lap, I start to breathe more normally and I couldn’t help the tug at the corner of my lips as I continued to stare at my plate. It was only a moment, but it was enough to make my body vibrate with joy. “Let’s dig in,” Cenred’s voice seemed farther away now, especially when I had Merlin’s gentle fingers to play with. 

It takes another moment until I realize that my eyes have drifted from my plate to my lap, where my fingers have taken to tracing over Merlin’s knuckles lovingly; but it takes a quiet chuckle from my left to break my focus. I glance over, from under hooded lids, to see Merlin gazing at me with a seductive smile as the rest of the people at the table ignore our sweet moment; I can see them in my periphery, tucking into the meal that just a moment ago I had been drooling over. “I’m going to need that hand back in order to operate my fork,” he says under his breath as he just barely leans in my direction. “I’ll look terribly silly using my left hand.”

I smile softly, my gaze returning to our tangled hands. “Only if you promise to return it later,” I tease. I hear him laugh breathily as I gently lift his hand to my mouth and press my parted lips to the back of his hand before I loosen my grip on him and he slides it out of my reach in order to pick up his fork. His eyes are trained on me though, as he dips his fork into the mashed potatoes first; I can’t stand it though, because the longer I look at him the more my blood begins to heat. 

I try very hard for the next thirty minutes to focus solely on my dinner plate; my plan goes well for the first five minutes, in which I can’t help but devour half of my food, but then as my starvation dissipates my attention gets drawn away, flitting from one face to next as the people around me converse jovially. 

“Merlin,” Mithian says as she swallows a bite and reaches for her glass of water. “Do you remember Edwin? He was only just a baby when we…” she glances at her father, but he’s busy cutting his green beans into manageable bites. “Moved.” She finishes slowly before she looks at the boy sitting to Merlin’s left. “Edwin, this is our cousin Merlin.”

I lean forward, in the guise of reaching for my glass of water; the boy next to Merlin is a slightly melancholy looking youth with a mop of nicely groomed light brown hair and amber eyes, and as I watched through my peripheral vision and took a sip of water Merlin turned to meet the boy’s soft eyes. “I think I vaguely remember the day that Aunt and Uncle brought you home from the hospital,” Merlin said with a casual smile in his voice. 

The boys eyes grew somber, his shoulders move with a silent sigh; he slowly turned his attention back to his plate, which I notice he’s only picked at and moved things about aimlessly, and gives a weak smile and nod. “That’s more than I remember of you cousin, but it is nice to meet you.” He takes a bite of potatoes then lifts his head to look past Merlin and I’m startled when he meets my eyes. “You too Arthur,” he says with a soft smile-something a little more genuine in his eyes than when he smiled at Merlin. “It’s nice to have another male Omega in the house.”

I lean back in my seat, my surprise at his forwardness at addressing me without any notice flushing my cheeks in embarrassment; I glance at Merlin who gives me a reassuring smile. I give him what I hope is a pleading look as I pick up my fork and busy my mouth with another bite. Merlin turns back to his own plate with what I think is a subtle nod to me. “Arthur’s been through quite a lot Edwin,” he says calmly, his hand reaching for mine briefly for a gentle squeeze; I take a reassured breath, happy to know that Merlin can read my face. “He might take a little to warm up, but I’m sure you’ll be fast friends.”

Edwin’s already pale face seemed to almost drain of all its blood; his eyes widened and he clutched at his shirt front with a thin hand. “Oh,” his words tumbling out of his mouth like raindrops from the sky. “I didn’t mean to be too forward; Mithian told us that she was going on a rescue mission, I should have been more sensitive. I didn’t mean to bring up unhappy matters, please forgive me.”

Merlin waved a hand through the air nonchalantly and I focused solely on how I I could make my remaining meal magically multiply; maybe if I gave Merlin another look he could do something magical, but I doubted that since he’s only just recently discovered his abilities. “Edwin don’t fret,” Merlin said and then quickly moved on with a different topic. “How old are you Edwin? You must be what, about eleven?” 

Edwin returned his attention to his food, albeit sulkily it seemed. “I’ll be eleven in a few months,” he sighed as he pushed his green beans aside. “You’re going to be sixteen this Christmas, aren't you Merlin?”

My attention perked up; Christmas was only a few weeks away, at least from what I remember before our little escape from the Compound. I smiled as I watched the side of Merlin’s face pink up, his eyes darting around his plate. “Your birthday’s on Christmas?” I ask teasingly, my hand reaching out to brush a lock of his dark hair out of his eyes. 

He smiles, but doesn’t turn to me; he’s frozen, his eyes still looking at his plate. “A few days after actually,” he says softly, his hand coming up to meet my hand and catch it before I can pull it away. “I almost forgot myself, what with my mother’s illness and being transported to the Compound.” He presses the back of my hand to his moist lips, and I wonder if my kiss had sent shivers down his spine earlier. “I guess I have more to celebrate than I thought this year.”

Now we’re both blushing and even though I open my mouth to say something the only thing that comes out is a strangled little noise. He releases my hand, smiles at me warmly and turns back to his Uncle; I take a moment to get my heart beating at a normal speed before the table conversation filters into my ears. 

“So do you all go to school then,” Merlin asks his cousins. “You’re all so young, I would suspect that the Elders must have a school around here for the village children. Will Arthur and I need to register soon; surely we’ll be able to catch up quickly enough? Mithian could probably help fill in any gaps, right?” I grin, my mouth busy chewing on one of my last bites of the incredible meatloaf; its things like this, learning that Merlin might secretly love academics, that makes loving him an adventure. 

Mithian looks to her father, her mouth full. “Mithian goes part time to school and part time to the academy; Edwin and Morgause both go to the school. I’ve already arranged for you to start in a few days; I thought you could both use some more time to recoup and get your bearings. Arthur,” Cenred’s voice saying my name draws my attention; I look up at him, my eyes wide. “You’ll be going full time to school with Edwin and Morgause, different level of course. But Merlin,” and I see Merlin stiffen slightly besides me. “You’ll be going to both school and the academy; Mithian will be able to show you around and make sure you get where you need to go.”

“There are two schools?” My voice surprises even myself; I don’t flinch though, even though my hand sneaks under the table to find Merlin’s and he seeks mine as well until we’re holding onto each other. I look Cenred in the eyes, unfaltering even though I want to cower under his grey stare; he isn’t obviously intimidating, but my nerves are clearly still frayed from all the over excitement of the journey and the new living situation. I remind myself, with a squeeze of Merlin’s hand, that I’m just as strong as he is; we share strength, so I can speak and do anything, as long as he’s with me. 

“Well Arthur,” he said gently as he swallowed a mouthful. “There’s a school, you know, for academics such as math, science, history; then there’s an academy the Elders founded that educates young witches and warlocks and other magical beings. It’s a place where they can learn to hone their talents, learn what their strengths are, and learn to work with other magical forces in this world.”

“So Merlin won’t be going to class with me?” My voice is small, but not for fear; I will hate every second I am away from Merlin, but I will be strong so that when we’re together he’ll be proud of me. He’ll see how his Omega is strong, can be strong for him, and not just beautiful. Merlin gives me a smile and runs his thumb over my knuckles. 

“He’ll take some classes with you, but some he’ll have to take at the academy.” Cenred’s eyes soften as he looks at me; it’s this moment that I decide he’s probably more understanding about being separated from the one he loves because the shadow in his eyes tells me he still loves his wife. 

“It’ll be alright Arthur,” Mithian says happily, the smirk on her face is full of mockery as her eyes go between me and Merlin. “I’ll make sure Merlin behaves and comes home to you in one piece. But I’ll refrain from telling you about any of the little tramps who flirt with him, wouldn’t want you fly into a jealous rage and scratch someone’s eyes out.”

The entire table erupts in giggles, and even I can’t suppress the laughter that bubbles up in my chest. By the time the hysterics have died down my plate is now completely empty and a pout has begun to form on my lips. Morgause chimes in, her voice light and joyful. “Don’t forget about the cake I’ve made for dessert Arthur; I’ll make sure to cut you an extra big piece.”

She gets up, taking her plate and Mithian’s in hand; Merlin does the same, taking his plate and mine. “I’ll help you clear up Morgause, it’s the least I can do.” 

“I’ll help too,” Edwin pipes in as he stands up and picks up his father’s plate as well as his own. “Just to make sure I get a nice big piece of cake too.” He grins as he follows behind his sister and Merlin throws a smile over his shoulder at me as he follows them both into the kitchen. 

I sit there, awkwardly, in the silence as both Cenred and Mithian look at me; they’re nothing overtly intense about it, and yet without a plate in front of me I feel as if I’m on display. “So, Arthur,” Mithian’s voice is low, almost dangerously so. “My father is your primary guardian while you’re here and while you and Merlin are unmated; if that were to ever change, Merlin would be your primary guardian.” Her voice floats around me like smoke. “I think it only fair that he knows your full name, don’t you?”

And there she was, the Mithian from the forest; I didn’t know if she wanted to see me squirm or to ruin my entire existence with this information, but either way I wasn’t going to let that happen. If this information meant that Cenred would kick me out, then better to find out now rather than later. I bowed my head, only ashamed that I had to confess my relation to such a tyrant. “My full name is Arthur Pendragon, my father is Uther Pendragon.” My voice was brittle with anger as I said my father’s name. 

“Mithian,” Cenred’s voice was reproachful. “Why would you bring this up now; clearly Arthur’s relationship with his father is a delicate matter. I’m disappointed in you, but we’ll discuss that later. I’m sorry for my daughter’s lack of tact, please just relax and enjoy your time with us; if you want to discuss it, we can talk later if you feel like it.” He gave me a sympathetic smile, then turned a pointed look on his daughter and shook his head wearily. 

Before anything else could be said on the subject Merlin was coming back into the room, two dessert plates in his hands. Morgause and Edwin followed him into the room; once the plates were placed in front of everyone, we were all consumed by the decadent treat in front of us. It was well beyond words, the sugar and chocolate working wonders on my tongue and loosening my mind. By the time I was licking the last of the frosting off my lips Merlin’s fingers were tangled with mine and we were leaning slightly into each other; the chocolate was making me swoon and the sugar was making me warm all over. 

“I think we should get you to bed,” Merlin whispered in my ear as he caught me sneaking my fork over to his dessert plate which still had some cake left on it. 

“I slept so much today,” I whined softly, sticking my fork in my mouth and sucking on it. “I’m not even tired.”

Merlin chuckles and scoots both of our plates away from us; Mithian and her family are slowly dispersing and leaving the table, but I’m not paying much attention. “Yes,” Merlin shushes. “But I was forced to leave you and now I’m feeling a bit needy.” In my surprise I turn to him, my fork still hanging out of my mouth and my eyes wide. He smiles wickedly, gently sliding the fork out of my mouth and putting it on the discarded dessert plates. 

I stare at him, his eyes bright and dancing. “You need me?” I breath huskily. 

He shakes his head, eyes not leaving mine. He leans in, his lips tickling the shell of my ear. “I want you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So just in case you (like me) get characters sometimes confused here's a little cheat sheet guide to Mithian's family.  
> Conrad (father)  
> Mithian (17)  
> Morgause (14)  
> Edwin (11)  
> Arthur's 15 and a little, Merlin is almost 16.


	39. For you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help myself. Merlin's POV. there will be a continuation in Arthur's POV. I leave some suspense. This part is lots of fluff and smutt/tease. I hope you like it

It didn’t take much convincing. We were practically groping each other as we tumbled through our bedroom door, Arthur attacking my neck as I maneuvered our bodies through the hallways without bumping into anything. Our room was dark as we entered, but as I flicked on the light I realized that they were too bright for what I wanted; Arthur needed to know that he came first, and after the day I had had all I wanted was to shower him with love. I flicked the lights back off and Arthur let out a confused sound as his mouth detached from my neck. 

I shush him, but then I go and scoop him up; my hands grip his thighs and I lift him until I can wrap his legs around my middle, and of course he lets out a surprised grunt. I swallow that sound and it instantly turns into a hum of giggles. “So strong,” he murmurs when our lips ghost against each other. It’s my turn to make a pleased sound, deep in my chest. Arthur returns his lips to the other side of my neck, a smile obviously on his lips as he marks me with little love bites. “My strong Alpha,” he says as he licks at a particularly tender spot he’s been working on; it’s like that spot is directly connected to the desire that’s eating at my stomach. “Gonna take care of me?” He purrs in my ear and I walk with him in my arms as I take him into the dark bathroom; if I don’t do this, there’s going to be so much sex all over this room. 

Arthur’s distracted as I turn on the bathroom light and gently release him, a questioning look on his perfect face; I lean forward and kiss that look away until his eyes are closed and his mouth is lax. “I’m going to take such good care of my wonderful Omega,” I whisper huskily when I pull away, his eyes still closed and his lips parted. 

I think it’s the sound of the running water that really brings him back to me, or maybe its the smell of lavender and eucalyptus. “What’s this?” He asks as I straighten up, my hands damp and covered in bubbles. I turn to wrap him in a tight hug, my chin on top of his head; just feeling him breathing against me in enough to help ease the constriction in my chest. 

I sigh heavily, the scents starting to work their wiles on me. “This is me taking care of you,” I say softly as I rub his back. “Mithian has a stash of bath stuff that she said we were welcome to, so I figured tonight I would pamper you.”

Arthur makes a squeaky “aw” sound as his arms circle around me to squeeze me, but I can already feel myself reacting to him so after a minute I gently spin him around. He makes a completely different kind of sound, a little unhappy maybe, but I press a kiss to his neck to help sooth that. He goes pliant, allowing me to lift his shirt over his head and drop it on the tile floor; he mewled softly as my hands massaged their way around his waist to the button of his jeans, his head fell back against my chest as my hands worked his zipper down and slowly worked the denim over his hipbones until it was loose enough that the fabric just slid down to his ankles. 

“Can I?” I whisper, my hands pressing softly to his warm flat belly; the question was loaded, and we both knew it, so I didn’t need to say it out loud. Arthur’s head lolled against my chest until his sleepy eyes met mine and his nod was accompanied with a sweet husky moan. I slide my hands back to his hips, my fingers dipping into the elastic band of his underwear; the most delicious sound escaped my Arthur’s lips as I slowly slid his underwear to the floor to join his jeans. 

I would have stayed there to worship that perfect body, would have covered every inch of him in kisses and love bites, but the bath would have over run; reluctantly, I lean away from his beautiful figure, and reach over to turn off the tap. When I straightened up Arthur’s turned and now I’m faced with the utter distraction of his mesmerizing chest, hips, and semi-hard cock; my breath catches in my throat and its his turn to lean forward and capture my mouth in a fevered kiss. The feel of his body against mine doesn’t help the situation and he swallows every noise I make, but when my hands travel down to his firm yet soft rump I know that I have to draw my lips away from his. 

“You should get in,” I pant. “You don’t want your bath water to get cold.” He hums, only slightly disappointed. I pull away, but I hold on to his hand and help him stay steady as he steps into the steaming tub of bubbles and I listen as he slowly slides into the frothy water with a moan of pleasure at the warmth. When he’s fully reclined, his hand just holding mine softly with his thumb gently running over my knuckles, I kneel down by his head. “You just relax, I’ll be back in a little bit to check in on you.”

Before I could stand up and exit the bathroom, Arthur yanked gently on my hand that he still had ahold of. “What are you going to do love?” He looked up at me with dreamy eyes and I couldn’t resist placing a kiss on his lips. 

“I’m going to make our room up in the most wonderful way,” I whisper against his lips. “So when you’re done with your bath I can continue to show you how much you’re loved.” Arthur let a heart wrenching “Oh” before I pressed another kiss to his forehead. He let go of my hand, let it come up to my cheek as he leaned up to press his lips under my chin. “Now enjoy,” I hush as I start to stand up. I run a hand through his mussed hair. “I’ll be back soon.”

I don’t take my eyes off him as I slowly back out of the bathroom, and I’m rewarded by watching as Arthur sinks a little further into the bubbles and his eyes close as his head leans back against the bath tub. I close the door a bit so that if I make any noise it won’t disturb my beauty. 

When I’m back in the dark bedroom I decide to make the bed up, seeing as we had mussed it and then I had left Arthur asleep when I’d left; once it looks as it did before we had taken advantage of it, I quietly head into the hallway at to the closet that Mithian had showed me previously. I fill my arms with everything that I could think of that would make the room as beautiful and inviting as Arthur, then I walk back to the room. I take a few minutes setting everything up around the room; after I’m satisfied, I bring out the bags from our shopping adventure and take a few minutes taking out the items that I want and putting them in places that I think will work. 

When I walk back into the bathroom Arthur is still lounging peacefully in the tub, but the bubbles are starting to deflated and his chest in now visible. I reach into one of the draws of the vanity, flick the lighter and place the lit candle on the edge of the sink by Arthur’s head. He still doesn’t move, so I quickly dart out to the bedroom. When I come back though he’s blinking up at me with round eyes and he’s bringing his knees up to his chest. 

“Is the water cool now?” I ask, kneeling down beside him again. He nods, his eyes glued on me. “Everything’s ready, did you want to get out now or would you like some more hot water?” Instead of answering Arthur leans forward and grabs me gently with both hands on my cheeks (practically covering my chin in bubbles) and dragged me forward for an open mouth kiss. 

I lean forward, but I’m glad that the bath tub is between us; I enjoy him taking control, licking into my mouth and teasing me with his tongue, but we break apart for air. “Take me to bed,” he breaths against my lips. “Take me to our bed.” His words are husky in my ears and I nearly growl my approval. 

“As you wish my sweet Omega,” I stand up, our hands linked, and bring him to his feet as well. Instead of simply manhandling him into my arms and carrying him to the bed, which is what my loins want me to do, I turn around and grab the fluffy white robes that’s hanging on the hooks on the wall. I wrap him up in the robe even though I can tell from his face that he dislikes the addition barrier between our bodies just as much as I do; I make sure that the robe is secure then I grab his hips and gently lift him out of the tub. The giggle I get in response only makes it harder for me to keep my hands and lips to myself. “This way,” I whisper and I take his hand. 

The scent of lavender, vanilla, and coconut have filled the room since I’ve been gone; I can smell it from the threshold of the bathroom as I slowly lead Arthur into the bedroom, my eyes trained on him even as I watch him over my shoulder. “Oh my,” he says in wonderment. His eyes are glassy and glittering as he takes in the sight before him, but his hand tightens around mine. 

He looks at me, his mouth a perfect little “o” and his cheeks pink even in the dim light. I smile, because he does this to me; makes me want him, and want to take care of him, in equal parts. I draw him closer to me, into a gentle hug even if he’s a little sideways in my arms as his eyes flicker and he continues to gape at the scene around us. “For you,” I breathe into his ear. “All for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think guys? I love comments, especially on my smutt stuff because I'm still learning and I want to improve.


	40. Getting Started

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Arthur's POV. Lots of love, fluff and sharing of emotions... they needed to bond, so I made it happen. I wanted to draw out their love scene cause I felt like the first one was a little rushed. And for anyone who was wondering I have had college midterms to deal with-I wanted to write but time was not my friend. I am still working on this story, do not fear.

Merlin’s arms around me were the only thing keeping me from swooning at the sight before my eyes. The lights were off, but the entire room was aglow with the dozens of flickering candle flames that were scattered strategically around the bed-some on each nightstand, some at the foot of the bed, and others just placed on the floor far enough away not to risk catching anything ablaze. Everything was rose gold and warm around me, and the scents wafting around me made my head fuzzy with peacefulness. I felt myself relax into Merlin’s arms. 

“For me?” My voice is so soft as I run my hands over his strong arms as they rest against my waist. I sound so surprised, which I shouldn’t, not after everything that Merlin had done for me already; I should have known he would have a sweetness hidden inside him. 

He noses at my neck, just under my ear, humming contentedly. “Always for you,” he mumbles as he’s kissing my neck. He takes my hands in his and leads me further into the room, his face thrown into golden light as I stare into his eyes as he guides me safely around the candles until he’s spinning me around. “I want you to just relax,” he whispers into my ear, his hands moving from my waist up, over my ribs, until he rests them on my shoulders. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt more relaxed,” I respond huskily. 

He chuckles and his hands move gently over my shoulders. “Then how come I can hear your heart racing inside this gorgeous chest?” Slowly I feel his fingers slip inside the collar of my bathrobe; he slides the soft material down my shoulders and I lift my arms a fraction to help him. I feel the material vanish, there’s a soft sound of it falling somewhere else, somewhere that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that there’s no shock of cold air against my skin, only warm soft air that matches the same temperature as my skin and blood. 

Merlin’s fingers return to my shoulders, but only briefly; I can’t help but lean back into him, my head falling back onto his chest-I guess I never really noticed that he’s a little taller than me. When I start to melt against him, Merlin’s hands slide down my arms and then snake their way until one on top of the other, they’re pressed over my heart. “There it is,” his voice is reverent, like he really might just start worshipping me. 

I can’t help it, my entire body is too relaxed to care about what I’m saying-as long as I get to stay here, like this, with Merlin, I’ll say whatever pops into my head. “Does it sound strong?” I lift a hand lazily to stroke over his hand, but I can’t feel anything besides the way my toes are tingling. 

He hums happily in my ear, a single finger tapping twice of my heart. “So strong,” he breaths. “It’s the heart of a fighter, a knight, a prince…” And then he’s turning me again, so slowly that his hands and arms barely move from their positions where they lay on my body. Our eyes meet, the flames around us turning them liquid. “The heart of my lover,” he practically sighs before leaning in to press a kiss to my lips. 

I part my lips and the kiss remains soft as Merlin’s mouth moves against mine; I sigh into him, my arms coming to wrap around his shoulders to draw him closer to me. He’s still fully clothed, but I can feel every muscle as it moves under his skin as he continues to kiss me. I moan as he breaks away in order press our foreheads together. He’s panting heavily, but we’re both have lazy smiles on our lips. “Why don’t you get comfortable.” He says, but I quirk a eyebrow at him as I lean back to get a better look at him. He smirks softly. “Don’t worry,” he releases me and I gently dropped onto the edge of the bed. “I’m just going to get more comfortable myself.” 

I sit in awe, the mattress and bedspread so soft and inviting beneath me, as I watch Merlin take a step away without breaking eye contact. He took hold of the hem of his shirt and with a seductive grin he slowly lifts it over his head and tosses it aside. I grin as I watch him, but this time when he reaches for the button and zipper of his jeans I inch backwards on the bed. I make my way slowly to sit in the middle of the bed, legs crossed, as I watch him slide his jeans down; I hold my breath as he reaches for the waistband of his briefs. When he stands before me, I hear the air in my lungs escape in an embarrassing moan; my eyes dance from his proud member that’s nearly bouncing against his abdomen back up to his beautiful face that’s still being lit by the dancing faces. 

“I want you,” I breath softly as he takes a step closer to the edge of bed. The look that crosses Merlin’s face makes my growing confidence falter and I pull my knees up to my chest, resting my chin on top of them. “What?” I ask in a timid tone, one I wish I could have stopped myself from using. 

Merlin lifts one knee and then the other until he’s kneeling on the edge of the bed, looking at me as if I might break apart if he looks at me too hard. His hands rest on top of his thighs, his breathing deep and rhythmic while mine is starting to become uneven and shallow. “Arthur,” his voice is sweet, but I can’t help my eyes falling away from his gaze and landing somewhere on the bedspread between us. 

“You don’t want me,” I breath, my voice shaky. 

“Tonight isn’t about that Arthur,” he sighs and slides a little closer. “Tonight is just about you Arthur. I want you to feel loved, worshipped, taken care of…”

“But you don’t want to sleep with me.” My voice is flat, because I feel like tears are moments away.

“Not tonight Arthur,” and I close my eyes tight with a sharp inhale; I try to breathe through the pain that’s starting to creep into my chest. “Please,” his voice is as wrecked as I feel but I don't open my eyes. I feel the mattress move as he shifts his weight around, until I feel his knees touch my own. “This has nothing to do with not wanting you Arthur; I think I’ll want you even while we’re asleep. But I saw things today, things that I thought I never wanted to tell you about-up until I saw you sitting there.”

I feel a warm finger loop under my chin and lift my head, and even though I could feel a tear trickle down my cheek I opened my eyes; his blue eyes are just as tear-soaked as mine. “I knew I couldn’t keep this from you, not when it was hurting you to think that I didn’t want you; I’m just afraid that hearing what I have to tell you might hurt you just as much.”

And from the shimmer in his eyes, I can tell that Merlin really is trying not to hurt me; I can also see the love shining there, telling me that he does want me, but something’s wrong. I blink and clear my eyes before I look back at him with a soft smile. I nod gently. “Tell me,” I whisper and I reach up to take his hand in my own. 

Merlin tries not to go into details, tries to make it seem as casual as possible as he tells me about the place that Mithian had taken him and what he had seen there-the girl that Mithian was friends with, her story, her loss. By the time he tells me about the promise that Mithian asks him to make, Merlin’s whimpering with his head cradled in my knees as he leans on me; my arms are around him, stroking his back and neck, and I’m making soft sounds to sooth him. “I want you to know how much I love you, how much you mean to me; it’s not all about sex Arthur, and if sex could put you at risk, then I’m willing to wait and be safe.” He raised his watery eyes to mine. “I love you too much not to at least try to protect you Arthur.”

I leaned forward to connect our lips, slippery and salty as they were I could feel all the love that flowed between us. My lips parted and I licked wantonly at his, when he opened up under my mouth things become heated and more passionate. “Arthur,” Merlin whined softly against my lips in between kisses. I hum, moving my lips to his neck as I try to drag him on top of me. “I want to,” he moans but I can’t seem to get him to budge from hovering over my spread legs. “But I don’t think we should. Please,” and his pleading tone makes me stop trying to move him. 

I open my eyes and look into those moon-blue eyes. “Okay,” I smile softly. “We’ll take it slow, tonight I’ll follow your lead.” He smiles, almost embarrassed, but presses another sweet kiss to my lips. “Alright love, what do you have planned for tonight; I know you’ve put a lot of effort into making this special.”

With a wicked grin Merlin leaned into me until he had me laid out on my back giggling, his nose nuzzling into my neck as he hovers over me. “Well you wicked thing,” he chuffs into my ear. “I want to show you just how much I care about you, but before I start I want you to open your mouth and close those opal eyes for me.” 

I chuckle but I do as he says, only letting out a small whimper when some of his weight vanishes for a moment; the next thing that I realize is something smooth and cool being slid inside my mouth. My eyes flutter open in surprise as my lips close around something sweet and melting; I taste chocolate and something else that makes me moan as it dissolves on my tongue. “You like that my sweet thing,” Merlin coos as he returns to hovering over my body; I giggle before pulling him down to kiss him. 

We spend the time it takes for the candy to completely disappear kissing and I have to admit that its more relaxed and filled with giggles now that I know that he’s here just for me. “There’s plenty more where that came from,” he murmurs as I stroke his face, running my thumb over his sharp cheek bones. “But I’ve got something else for you. Roll over my dear?” 

I smile as I lean up on my hands and start to roll over; Merlin presses another kiss to my lips before I twist and roll onto my belly. I pillow my head on my folded arms as Merlin gently straddles my thighs; I giggle because I can still feel his hard cock press against my closed thighs. “You comfy and relaxed my sweet thing?” I nod my head before I turn it to the right so I can see him in my peripheral vision. 

I feel warm slippery oil, the scent of eucalyptus filled my nose, and firm pressure from soft fingers began circling on my shoulder blades. It wasn’t more than a minute before Merlin’s minstrations have me moaning in pleasure. He massages me until my upper back is so relaxed that I’m melting into the mattress. “You like that?” He whispers in my ear as he leans over my shoulder. I whimper in response and feel his hands move lower. “We’re just getting started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? What do you think will happen in the next couple of chapters? I love hearing from you all because it makes me happy to hear what you think and feel about my work.


	41. You Deserve this

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin POV. It is fall holiday from school so I have been spending my free time writing as much as possible because I miss it and I love to write and give you something to read and review. So this is the last of the fluffy little night of love I set up for these two, next up is actual storyline in case anyone was thinking I forgot about the story.

Touching Arthur was like nothing I had ever been privileged enough to do before; my hands moved smoothly over his skin, helped by the scented massage oil, and just as I thought I was growing calmer his muscles would shift or he’d let a sigh escape his marvelous mouth and my skin would tighten and my heart would race once again. The vast expanse of naked, unblemished, perfectly smooth skin was both mesmerizing as well as tempting; my hands found their way lower and lower until they were pressing firmly into the upper crest of my lover’s rump-and what a lovely rump it is, so well shaped with just enough fat protecting the firm muscles underneath. 

“Oh,” Arthur moaned as my thumbs swirled deep circles into the soft flesh. “Merlin,” he sighs, my name on his tongue sending a wave of electricity down my spine. “You’re teasing me,” he whispers, and my breath catches in my throat. 

I lean over his back, my own muscles tense at just how easy it would be to close the distance between us and mould myself to his back. “Is that a bad thing baby?” My voice is huskier than I thought it would be as I breathe into Arthur’s ear. He makes a small noise, and I know him enough to know that means “no”. “So should I go lower?” My weight shifts a little so I can scoot back on my haunches, my hands bracing my weight just slightly on that perfect rump. I slide back so that I have more room to work on Arthur’s beautiful ass and everything below that. 

“Please,” he whimpers, his head tilting to the side so I can see a hint of his long blonde lashes as he blinks and his plump lips as they part. “I love you.”

That’s all I need to hear; I let my hands massage deeper into the muscle of his tantalizing ass. My fingers gently swirl the mounds of soft flesh until I’m holding the milky orbs apart; Arthur lets out a breathy sigh as I blow a gust of breath over his sensitive pink pucker. I lean forward as time slows down, each heartbeat dragged out as I closed the gap between my lips and his sweetly scented skin; and the moment that I inhale that sweet taste that is just purely “Arthur” I feel the last of my will power drain away. 

Arthur makes the most lovely sounds, some soft as a breath and others whiny and guttural. I love them all as I press kisses to his soft and supple flesh; kisses turn into sucking and then into licking. Arthur wiggles back so that he’s pressing gently into my mouth, his enjoyment bringing a smile to my lips even as I trace my tongue around his tight little ring of muscle. Arthur gasps, and when I glance up up I see that he’s gripping the sheets with white knuckled fists; I play with his hole until I hear another type of sound rip through Arthur. “Oh god…” he whimpers as he shudders through what I can only assume is a pretty powerful orgasm. 

I reluctantly pull away from his sensational pucker, pressing kisses to each cheek before I have to straighten up. He’s still gasping and shuddering when I sit back with my hands returning to their soft strokes; I rub down his powerful thighs one by one as he rides out his bliss and his breathing settles down a bit. “You make the most wonderful sounds Arthur,” I say huskily as I continue to massage the muscles in his upper thighs. “It’s the best thing I have ever heard.”

There’s a muffled laugh before he turns his head to the side with a huff. “You really are magic Merlin,” and I smile. “I didn’t think anything could feel any better than last night, the way you held me and moved inside me,” and I lean over to press a kiss in between his shoulder blades. He giggles lightly. “And then you go and do this, all of this,” Arthur throws a hand out, gesturing to the entire room. 

I shift off of Arthur’s legs, and when I’m sitting on the bed beside him, I place my hands on his hips and give him a gentle tug until he’s rolling onto his back toward me. The lazy, blissed out smile on Arthur’s face sets me into my own smile; he looks up at me, his eyelids seem heavy as he looks up at me from under them. “You’re amazing,” he manages to say after I just continue staring at him. 

“No stealing my ideas,” I murmur as I let my eyes dance over the rest of his amazing body. My hands are still on his hips and from there I let them run up his sides; Arthur arches slightly, his eyes closing, as my thumbs massage into the taut flesh of his abdomen. My hands press their palms flat into the hard planes of his abs, but then move upward to swirl around his rosy nipples. Arthur sighs but when my hands continue to tease his chest, his right hand comes up slowly. 

“Merlin,” he sighs as his hand stills mine as it rests on my wrist. His eyes slowly open, the blue irises dancing in the flickering candle light around us. “I love you,” and the way he says those words; I feel the emotion, the rawness of him in each syllable. 

I smile as I lean down and kiss his pliant lips, the taste of chocolate still lingering there. Arthur lots his head, his hand coming up to cup my cheek and then slide into my hair; I slide my own hands from his firm chest to around his shoulders so that I can sink a little lower into the kiss so that my lover doesn’t need to strain his neck. “I can’t believe how much I love you Arthur,” I breath against his lips as my body reclines on the bed so I can be closer to him. “It scared me at first,” I murmur as my mouth moves just slightly to press a kiss to the corner of his mouth before moving ever so slowly toward his cheek. “This pull I felt for you, back at the Compound, it made me nervous…” My lips reach his ear as my hand comes up to stroke his cheek on the opposite side. “And now I feel more nervous being away from you.”

Arthur lets out a strangled sigh and I feel his body go boneless beside me; I press myself against him, our legs tangled together and my arm snakes underneath his head to cradle it in the crook of my arm and shoulder. His eyes are closed as I lift my head to stare down at his beautiful face, but the lack of lips on him makes them fly open; he looks at me, his head tilting towards mine to press our foreheads together. “I know the feeling,” he murmurs softly. “I missed you so much today, like part of myself was missing.”

I smile, press a kiss to his cheek, and reach for another chocolate from the box nearby; he giggles softly as I slip the treat onto his outstretched tongue as he opens his mouth seductively. Before his lips can close around the piece of chocolate I’m licking my way into his mouth to join that chocolate as it dissolves. We spend the next several hours spooning, sharing treats, and I only slightly least Arthur; I let him suck on a piece of chocolate before dragging it away from his lips, painting a trail of melting chocolate down his sternum, then proceeded to lick up the chocolate from his skin before popping the remaining chocolate in my mouth and swooping in for another kiss. It’s lovely to lay there with Arthur, like nothing bad happened today and we have nothing to worry about when tonight turns into tomorrow. In between the kisses, the chocolate, and the whispered words of “I love you” and “I missed you” and “don’t leave me” and “keep doing that”, I grow more and more aware of how relaxed we’re both becoming. 

When Arthur can’t control his yawns or the fact that his eyelids are drifting closed more frequently, I press closer to his warm body and whisper into his ear. “You ready for bed baby?” He mumbles something incoherent and rolled onto his side so he could tuck his body into my waiting chest and arms, his head under my chin-his blonde hair tickling my lips and nose from the mussed ruffles. 

I take this as a sign that my lover is indeed ready to retire for the night, and now I’m too comfortable to move for so many reasons; mostly, I don’t want to disturb him. After some time though, after I’m convinced that Arthur’s probably fallen asleep in my arms, I know that for the safety of everyone in the house I need to get up and at the very least extinguish the candles-and I would do anything to protect my lover, even if that means that I have to try not to disturb him as he slumbers.

I’ve almost made it off the bed when I hear his soft voice. “Come back,” he croaks. When I look back at where I left him laying from the edge of the mattress where I’m perched I see his sleepy blue eyes looking up from the pillow that I slipped under his head. 

I smile at him softly but I shake my head; his perfect lips twist into a pout that’s just begging to be kissed away. “I have to blow out the candles sweetie or the house will burn down,” but even as I ease off the bed and Arthur’s eyes follow me around the room as I blow out the candles one by one, that pout only deepens. 

As I move to the other side of the bed to extinguish the last of the candles, Arthur rolls over so he can continue watching me. When I walk over to the last candle, the one burning on the night table, Arthur makes a soft noise and I look to that radiant face. I quirk an eyebrow and his pout disappears for a moment. “Leave that one,” he says softly as he reaches out for me. “Come back to me.”

I don’t hesitate to slide into bed with him, to cradle him in my arms as we both sigh at the closeness. Arthur immediately melts into my arms, his warm breath washing over my chest softly. “Thank you Merlin,” he murmurs against my skin. “Tonight was beyond anything I’ve ever…”

I silence him with a soft peck. “You deserve this and so much more baby,” I whisper as I pull him closer. He hums his contentment and settles even further into my embrace. “Let’s just sleep baby.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe I needed a lot of fluff in my life, maybe I'm just a desperately hopeless romantic, but I promise that I'm getting help-sort of. Please let me know what you think and what you think might happen next.


	42. Are you Ready?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so so so sorry that its been so long since my last update, but I will remind you that I will never abandon you-I may be quite late like i have been but I will never just stop without telling you. So, without further ado, I give you another chapter-Arthur's POV, setting up some stuff for the next couple of chapters so I hope its not too boring.

I wake up slowly, wrapped in Merlin’s warm arms; there was a point, not even a week ago, that Merlin was sneaking into my room at the Compound just to be near me because I was restrained and terrified. And here I was, with my eyes still closed, but I knew who was holding me by the way Merlin’s chest rose and fell beneath my cheek, the way his hand rested perfectly in the curve of my lower back, the smell of his skin, and the way his body is starting to feel so familiar underneath my own. The warmth around us started to become stifling, the warmth of the sun mixing with the warmth we generated together, but I didn’t want to move; I was enjoying Merlin’s arms around me too much. 

There’s a soft murmur from above my head, but I just smile and keep my eyes closed. “I felt that,” Merlin’s voice is softly gruff. I turn my smile so that it’s pressed against his breast bone. There’s a very tempting “mhmm” that’s barely a sigh before his hands are tightening around me. “You make it very hard to wake up sweetheart,” and I let a sigh of a chuckle escape before I pressed a kiss against his chest. 

I turn my face so that my other cheek is pressed against the downy chest hairs while my eyes can peer up at Merlin’s sapphire eyes that are looking at me with sleepy adoration. “Same to you,” I murmur as I watch his lips curl into a gentle smile. 

“Maybe we should spend the day in bed-together this time,” I say coyly, my own lips stretch into a teasing smirk; I can hear the subtle pleading in my voice. Merlin’s soft laugh and the way his arms gently bring me level with him, the way our skin drags against each other, and the way we both exhale from the feeling… That’s all the answer I need from him. 

That is until a few minutes into our dreamy kissing session there’s a loud sound from outside our bedroom door; Merlin’s arms shift protectively from my waist to my shoulders as we break apart, our faces both turn towards the door. I squeal and press myself against Merlin as Mithian barges through the door in the next moment. Merlin growls, his arm wrapping around me protectively, and I can feel the rumbling through our connected chests. “Mithian,” Merlin snaps, scrabbling to pull the sheets over us. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Mithian’s eyes are wide and glassy, and even though she had just burst into our room her eyes were staring blankly at a spot on the opposite wall. “Something’s happened,” her voice is strained, almost far away. “News from the outside,” she took a rattling breath. “The Elders know something.” All the air seemed to rush out of her, and I squeaked in fear as Mithian’s eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed onto the carpet of our bedroom floor. 

Merlin rolled over my body, careful not to put any weight on me, and off the side of the bed to land next to Mithian’s limp form. I leaned over the edge to get a better vantage of both of them. Merlin took hold of Mithian’s shoulders, even though that meant rolling her a bit so that she was lying on her back. “Mith, wake up,” Merlin said, his voice booming and full of authority. “Come on Mithian, you’ve got to wake up.” He shakes her shoulders gently. As I watch, clinging to the edge of the mattress, I worry that Merlin might not be able to help-maybe something was terribly wrong. 

I was a moment away from asking if I should call for help when I heard Mithian gasp, swallowing in huge lungfuls of air. I let out a sigh of relief as I slump onto the edge of the mattress so hard that I can feel the edge press into my collarbone all the way down my chest. “Mithian, what was that?” Merlin’s voice was soft with concern. 

Slowly Merlin’s cousin struggled to sit up, propping herself up with her palms pressed firmly into the carpet; Merlin made sure to keep a steadying hand on her shoulder. Mithian groaned and grumbled, so Merlin looked over his shoulder at where I was laying half hanging off the mattress; my eyes train on his, suddenly alert, waiting for him to say something. “Why don’t you get dressed Arthur, I have a feeling we’ll be leaving soon.” 

I nod my head as I scoot back; I take the sheet with me as I slide off the foot of the bed and make my way to the closet. I hear Merlin murmuring softly and look back over my shoulder; Mithian’s head is lolling to and fro on her shoulders and I can hear her say something in a dazed voice. But Merlin’s preoccupied with his cousin, so I slip into the closet and manage to get myself dressed into a comfortably oversized sweater and a fitted pair of jeans; before I have to grab anything more than a pair of sneakers there’s a loud sound and I’m rushing back into the bedroom. “Where’d Mithian go?” I ask breathlessly. 

Merlin is standing now, but he hasn’t moved from where he had been and he’s just staring at our now closed bedroom door; I can’t even see his face from this angle. I try to take a step towards him, but I get my foot caught in my discarded sheet; the audible “oomph” alerts Merlin to my near clumsiness even though I easily right myself and extricate my foot from the sheet. “You okay there?” I can hear the smirk in his voice as I look back up at him through my eyelashes, my cheeks tinting pink as I try to shrug it off with a embarrassed chuckle. 

I make my way over to the foot of the bed so I can slip on the sneakers even though I didn’t grab socks; as I’m sitting there, my cheeks still burning, I feel Merlin sit down to my left. “Mithian’s had a vision, something having to do with the Elders and you and I.” His voice is soft, but I can feel the concern hidden there just below the surface. “She didn’t want to go into details, said things were still fuzzy; but she said we need to head over to talk to the Council.” 

I finish sliding on my shoes before I look over at him; he’s still naked, leaning back slightly on his hands showing off his lithe form and finely muscled abdomen with it’s dusting of fine dark hairs that trailed down his stomach and passed his his navel… But I dragged my gaze back up to his face, the doppy smile on his face probably reflected on my own. “You think you’re up for another trip to the Hall of Elders?” I can see him watching my face for any sign of discomfort. 

I smile softly, my shoulders coming up around my ears and the soft material of my sweater tickling my jaw. “On two conditions,” I say coyly as my eyes run back down his alabaster figure. He quirks his eyebrows, waiting for me to continue. “First, you have to get dressed; I’m not letting anyone else oggle you except me-I think I’ve earned that right.” He grins at that, a light pink dusting his high cheekbones. “And Second I demand that we eat something before, that way I stand more of a chance; I want to avoid fainting at all costs if at all possible.” 

Merlin smiled, straightened up and leaned in to press a kiss to my lips softly. “I agree to all of your terms your majesty.” He murmured against my lips before standing. I watched him as he seductively made his way into the closet before me, his pert ass mesmerizing as it sways from one side to the other. Once he’s disappeared into the closet I flop back onto the bed; Merlin and his teasing has my heart racing and my breathing ragged, so I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths to calm myself down. 

A few minutes later I feel the bed dip next to me and I open my eyes; Merlin is hovering over my side, a sweet smile warming his face. “We should try to get something to eat before Mithian has some sort of melt down and leaves without us; you ready?” I nod silently. Merlin hops off the bed and offers his hand to me. 

We make it all the way to the kitchen and find coffee and milk before Mithian tears into the room with a crazed look in her eyes. “Grab something fast,” she huffs. Merlin’s mouth opens, but she cuts him off. “Something’s happened with the compound,” she snaps. 

Mithian whirls about like a tornado and Merlin and I try our damnedest not to get in her way. I manage to make a couple of pieces of toast, slather them with butter and jam, and wrap them in paper towels in the same time it takes Mithian to fill three travel mugs with coffee, for Merlin to fix two with milk and sugar the way that he and I would like them, and for them to shove two pieces of fruit each into their pockets. “Come on,” Mithian urges as she grabs her own cup of coffee and bolts out the door. Merlin and I swap coffee and toast before he leads me back through the house; he makes sure that we both grab jackets before stepping out the door. I’m shoving toast and a banana into my jack pockets, trying not to drop my hot coffee, while I walk out the door. 

“Come on,” Mithian’s harsh voice is what snaps my head back to where I’m going; Merlin is a few steps in front of me, his hand out, guiding me as I wasn’t watching where I was going. We’re moving quickly to a compact black car that Mithian is situating herself into as the driver. Merlin pulls the back door open for me and closes it when I’ve slid inside, then he’s sliding into the seat beside Mithian. 

“Buckle up boys,” Mithian says as she revs the engine. “No time to lose.” I catch Merlin’s furtive glance in the visor mirror before Mithian shifts the car into gear and pulls the car out of the spot. I quickly click my safety buckle into place and grab hold of the plastic handle that’s dangling above my door, but I have to bite down on my inner cheek to keep from crying out as we whip through the streets. It all becomes a blur of blue and white and s many shades of brown that I can’t keep track, and all I want is Merlin even though I know that he’s only a few feet in front of me. And I’m left wondering what could be happening that’s got Mithian so frantic; my stomach continues to drop as we speed our way closer to the Hall of Elders.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would love to hear what you all have been up to lately. For example, I just finished my first semester of university which is why I was too busy to update as much as I wanted. I am doing just great though, lots of ideas for this and many more stories to come-some Merther, some other fandoms, but all good things I think. Leave me comments, ask me questions, anything is good feedback.


	43. In this Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We go back to the Compound and Gaius and Will for this chapter and things are moving along at a much faster pace now-at least I think so.

It had been over a week since Merlin and Arthur had vanished; the guards and the Compound had all returned to their normal machine-like functioning, until the morning that Gaius opened his email to find another message from Uther Pendragon. In the past twenty-four hours he had done everything he could to keep up with his work load as well as keeping updated with Hunith; it appeared that Uther’s mercenaries had been snooping around his apartment, assuming that he we would not be home while he worked at the Compound and when they instead found Hunith they left rather abruptly-leaving Hunith rather uneasy. And now there was an email waiting for him in his work inbox; none of these could be good coincidences. He opened the email, breathing through his discomfort as he read through the contents twice. 

 

Gaius,

It has come to my attention that you have a rather personal connection to the Alpha who has abducted my son; no doubt that you were already informed by your niece that my men went by your flat to ask you some follow up questions. As I was not informed of this previously you can be assured that I was not at all pleased to hear this. I find your falsehood precariously close to a breach of ethics and as a member of the board of trustees for the Compound and a major financial contributor the CEO and the Medical Board found my information qualified me to place a hold on your ability to practice at the Compound. I will personally fly in to assist in the inquiry of your practices, and if it is found that you are unfit to perform your duties or have violated any of the protocols that we’ve put in place, then I will be responsible for implementing an appropriate punishment. 

Effective immediately you are no longer permitted to operate as a medical professional in any form or context; you are to conclude any outstanding issues with your patients then hand over your records to the next available doctor and await further instructions. I should be arriving late this evening, so once you are finished I think it only appropriate that you lock up your office so as not to contaminate any evidence further, and then see yourself home until you are summoned for the inquisition. 

On a more personal note, I am very disappointed in your Gaius; I would have thought that you of all people would have done everything in his power to ensure both those boys returned safely back to the Compound. If I find anything to the contrary in your records or in my investigation I don’t know what I will do. You know better than anyone how much good these Compounds do; if there were no where for these things to go, then you know the risks. My associates say that you took in your nieces and nephew when their parents were killed in an accident, which shows the kind of man I know you to be; but if you had any previous knowledge of any Alphas or Omegas within your family without promptly enrolling them in the Compound like I did with Arthur, then I may not know you after all. 

Go home to your flat Gaius, tell your niece that you no longer can help her and I will summon you back to the Compound sometime in the next day or two for the inquisition. Until then, do as I say; do not interfere with any other patients. 

Uther Pendragon

 

Well, Gaius thought, it seemed that there was no time to lose. He checked his list of patients for today; a number of post-heat exams, a few pre-heat exams, a few Omegas that were in heat and sedated for the most part in the isolation rooms. From what he knew from yesterday’s end of day these were all cases that were easily treated and under control, what he needed to do was get to William; he had gotten a call late in the night as he slept in his office that he had been abused by several of the other Omegas in the ward. The boy had to be sedated and put in a room of his own for the night, so Gaius had decided to let him sleep and try to help in the morning; now it was morning and Gaius was determined to make a last attempt at helping the boy. 

He picked up his phone and dialed, after only a single ring the line picked up. “Hunith,” his voice was sharp, with no hesitation-contrasting to the way he felt about his plan. “I need you to drive my car here to the Compound; it has a staff sticker, they’ll let you right into the underground parking. Pull into a spot as close to the lift door as you can and wait for me there.” 

“Gaius, what…” he can hear the worry in his niece’s voice. 

“There isn’t time right now,” he says with quiet resign. “I’ll tell you everything when I see you in a bit. Just stay calm; you’re coming to pick me up because I’m not feeling well, alright?” 

“Alright,” she said. “I’ll be there soon.” And with that they hung up. 

Gaius made quick work of a short email in reply to Uther’s. He hoped that it would buy him at least a little time, maybe a little lee-way if he were caught and punished. 

 

Dear Uther,

I do hope your travels will be safe in this wintery weather that we have been experiencing. I wish I could assure you of my true and total commitment to this institution, but I know what a man of integrity you are; by all means, look into my records and inquire all you like. Perhaps it is the work load here at the Compound and I have indeed missed a step, but I assure you that I did want those boys returned safely. I will do as you ask, and once my patients are all in stable conditions and in the hands of Dr. Valiant I will head back to my flat for some rest. I have been feeling my age lately, so a nice rest will be nice; if it agrees with me, I may even consider an early retirement. 

Cheers,

Dr. Gaius

 

Just writing the overly brown-nosing bit of puffery made Gaius woozy, but he knew it would cater to Uther’s superiority complex; he only hoped that it would work in his favor. He scribbled out a few instructions for each of his current patients on post-it notes and attached them to the insides of their folders before grabbing his things and hurrying out of his office. He left the stack in the lounge where Valiant would no doubt find them when he bothered to come into the Compound for his shift later in the morning, then he straightened his lab coat and bustled off to the Omega Post Heat Ward. 

Thankfully Alice was working the ward today, which meant he should have little trouble with the rest of his plan. He was huffing when he walked into the ward, and Alice gave him a stern look before gesturing him to come over to a far corner of her desk. 

“Why do you look so unhinged Gaius, this is very unprofessional of you.” she produced a handkerchief and handed it to him, motioning for him to wipe his face. He hadn’t realized that he had worked up a sweat on his way through the Compound. “Now take a moment to collect yourself while I fill you in on what happened last night, alright?” 

He nodded in silence as he ran the cloth over his forehead first, ignoring Alice’s displeased glare. “I’m not sure what he’s been saying lately, but whenever I walk into that dormitory they all clam up right away; all glaring and snarling in his direction, poor thing. And then last night there was a rather raucous calamity coming from the dormitory so I went in only to find the poor thing thrown on the floor almost unconscious with his whole form out of sorts and bloody. I took him away with the help of the night guard, but when he started to come to he started wailing and fighting so we had to administer the sedative to get a better look at his injuries.” She paused, and Gaius’ let his hand drop from his face as their eyes locked. “And Gaius,” her voice was hushed, tears threatening her eyes. “Oh Gaius, what those other boys did to him; it was just awful.” She takes a rattling breath before continuing. “They’d stuck things in him, not just beat him; he seems to have a dislocated shoulder from where they pinned him down, but the blood was from whatever they forced inside him.” 

Gaius had heard enough, and clearly Alice had seen too much; he patted her hand sympathetically before asking which room he was in. He walked as slowly and calmly as he could, mulling over how he was to handle the boy’s injuries. He opened the door to William’s room to find the young Omega curled up on a cot, his arms wrapped around him as he shuddered; he was facing away from the door and was startled when the doctor had opened the door. “It’s alright William, it’s just me.” Gaius offered in his most soothing voice as he softly closed the door behind him. 

William began to shake and sob, his body curling into a ball as he wedged himself into a corner on his cot; he was shaking terrible as his face buried into the tops of his knees. Gaius didn’t bother taking any steps closer to the poor boy, he knew it would only cause him more trauma at the moment, as would an exam. 

“William,” his voice full of concern even though he had wished for it to come across as hopeful. “I will only ask you once if you wish to tell me who did these things to you; after that I will respect your wishes and you may come to me if you want to talk about it at your own time.” William only let out a strangled cry without even looking up at the doctor. “Would you like to tell me who did this to you William?”

“No,” the boy squeaked, his head still buried in his knees as he shook it feebly. He continued to cry softly and shake terribly as Gaius looked at him from afar. 

“William,” his voice already posing the question; the boy lifts his head to peek over his knees. When Gaius can see the glimmer of tears in his eyes he continues. “How would you like to leave this place?” At that the boy’s head lifted, his mouth and eyes wide in shock; Gaius held up his hands to stop him from blurting out the many questions that he was sure to ask. “Just answer the question please and leave the rest to me; I will explain later.”

William’s mouth slowly shut and his eyes began to dart about as he chewed on his lower lip. The boy was too frightened and hesitant. “William,” Gaius’s voice drew his attention once again, his tone was serious as he glanced at the watch on his wrist. “In only a matter of hours I will no longer be able to care for you; you will be under the care of Dr. Valiant. If you wish to leave with me, I can help you; you just need to trust me and decide quickly.” 

After a few more minutes of tense silence where William chewed on his lip and sniffled till his tears stopped, he looked up at the older man. “Okay, I’ll go with you.”

Gaius’s only response was to nod in agreement before beaconing William to stand up; his only instructions for the boy was to follow his lead and act as naturally as possible, which William simply nodded to. Together, with Gaius’s hand gripping Will’s elbow gently, they walked to the front of the ward where Alice was seated at the reception desk. There was a quick exchange during which Gaius explained briefly that William needed further treatment in a more secluded atmosphere so he was taking him out of the ward for a time. This seemed to be fine with Alice who gave Will a sympathetic smile before the two men turned and left. From there Gaius calmly walked them through hallways lined with offices and patient rooms until they came to a lift door which the door promptly opened and ushered the boy into. 

When the doors were closed and they were moving slowly down the doctor slumped against the wall with an exhausted sigh. “I know you must have a terrible number of questions William, and I do want to answer them, but first we must get out of the Compound and back to my flat in the village.” When he glanced at William the boy was still hugging himself and shuddering slightly. However, when the doctor looked into his eyes he could see a quiet determination; William wanted to be away from this place as much as he did, they were in this together now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me what you think. Also, I know it was kind of fleeting, but should I add a trigger warning for the rape of Will? I will add it if you think it is necessary.


	44. I hold him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, long time no see, but I've been extremely busy with my college courses and other crazy life drama. I know this is sort of a short chapter, but I think it's packed with a lot of info. Merlin's POV.

“What’s going on?” The Council of Elders were just as they had been when Arthur and I had first walked into their council chamber, the only difference was there was no pomp and circumstance; I stood before them and their huge circular table with Arthur by my right shoulder and Mithian to my left, her hands on her hips. I pulled Arthur closer to me by our clasped hands, watching the Elders’ calm faces pinch into annoyed frowns as Mithian barged into their hushed conversation. 

“Excuse me,” one of the Elders began, a woman with long silver hair that seemed to shimmer even when there were no windows for sunlight to cause such an occurrence. However the moment Mithian’s head turned her way her mouth promptly snapped closed and she turned back to her fellow elders with a quiet squeak. 

“Elder Gregory I know that you’ve received news from the Compound, the same Compound that Arthur and Merlin escaped from.” Mithian’s voice was stronger than I had ever heard it before as she spoke directly to the man across from her. “I had a vision, so don’t bother denying it; but you know that my visions are spotty. What’s going on Elder Gregory?”

Elder Gregory seemed unfazed as he gestured for everyone to take a seat. Arthur and I take seats with the other Elders, but Mithian remains standing. “Mithian,” Elder Gregory speaks gently as he takes his own seat. “I would never try to deny a fact, especially to our most promising future Seer; why don’t you share with the Council what you saw and I can then tell you what we know.” Mithian bristled next to me. “Now please, sit my dear.”

Mithian sits down stiffly in the chair to my left and proceeds to launch into what she saw; I sit and calmly listen until I hear something that makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. “What did you just say? Doctor Gaius?”

Mithian and Elder Gregory’s eyes snap onto me; I try to avoid the awkwardness by looking towards Arthur, but he took is giving me a look of confusion. “How do you know this man you call Doctor Gaius?” Elder Gregory finally asked, his voice calm but curious. 

I looked back at him, my cheeks feeling pink. “Well, I mean I thought the name sounded familiar, but I didn’t realize he was a doctor at the compound until I was assessed;. I think my mother mentioned a family member by that name, but it was years ago. I was just surprised. I didn’t think about it until now, but I doubt the two are related.” My voice lacks all the alpha qualities that I’d grown so fond of. 

Elder Gregory’s eyes flit over to Arthur. “And you Arthur?” 

I felt Arthur’s grip on my hand tighten slightly. “Doctor Gaius was kind to me while I was at the Compound; he took great care to make sure that the omegas in his care didn’t feel degraded. I didn’t know he dealt with alphas though. I thought he specialized in omega care.” 

Elder Gregory’s eyes narrowed and he hummed and he seemed to be processing this. “Mithian,” he said after a quiet moment. “What did you see in your vision regarding this man?”

“As you know, my visions are sometimes muddled-some pieces are of current happenings, others are flashes of possible futures. I saw the old doctor and a young boy-an omega, badly injured-running through the Compound. I saw the doctor in bindings and standing before a trial-an angry, stiff man in a suit judging him. I saw the young boy being thrown back into a white room. There’s also a woman, thin, possibly ill, and she’s in the middle of everything.” Mithian turned sad eyes my way. “Merlin,” she looked down, her alpha confidence fading. “It’s your mother-I recognize her from all those years ago.”

“The doctor, how is he connected to Merlin’s mother?” Elder Gregory drew our attention back to him. My stomach felt as if I had swallowed a block of ice. My mother was at the Compound. My mother was in trouble, possibly looking for me. 

“I’m not sure, but they are connected in some way, it just wasn’t revealed to me.” Mithian sounded petulant, but I couldn’t seem to focus; even Arthur’s firm grip wasn’t enough to keep me grounded. 

“Mithian your gifts are progressing quite as one would expect, just be patient with yourself.” Elder Gregory seemed deeply concerned as he stood and his eyes focused solely on me. I tried to breath, but something inside me was frozen, waiting to see what he would say next. 

“The man you know as Doctor Gaius was once a dear and trusted friend of this community; he acted as physician and mentor and advisor for many. He was known simply as Gaius. He came to us seeking asylum before we had to protect our sanctuary with wards and spells; he was a beta with magic, something very rare and too confusing even for the other betas to understand on top of their fears of alphas and omegas. He came to us years before, so long ago that almost all have forgotten when. This man is your Uncle Merlin…”

I felt the shock jolt my body, my hand intrinsically tightening on Arthur. Elder Gregory continued solely. “He left because he had word from his family of the death of his son and daughter-your mother and her siblings needed someone to care for them. We did not want him to go, we knew he would be in danger, but he went anyway. We knew nothing of his movements or actions once he left our safety.”

He turned his eyes to Arthur. “You say that he treated omegas at this Compound-which means he treated you. And he treated Merlin when he arrived. There’s every likelihood that he did everything in his power to aid your escape-he would never try to stop you. Merlin is his family and he treated every gender as an equal. But I fear this boy, the one that Mithian saw in her vision, is the cause for his current predicament; if the boy was injured he would go above and beyond to help him-even kidnapping.”

Elder Gregory stood quietly, his eyes locked with Arthur’s. I watched as Arthur’s eyes filled to the brim with tears and his ears turned pink. “It’s my father,” he gasped, the tears silently flowing down his cheeks. “He practically owns that Compound-invests in it, sits on the board, knows the directer. It’s because of me. He wants me back there. Wants… He wants…”

Arthur’s beyond words, and I’m up and cradling him to my chest before he’s panting for breath. I turn my back to Elder Gregory and focus my eyes on his, even as they turn red and watery again. He’s shaking in my arms, clinging to my shirt and gasping as he fights to set out the words. I lean in close, so it’s just the two of us. “ssshh,” I sooth as I run my fingers through his hair. “I’ve got you, he can’t hurt you. You can tell me, it’s just you and me, no one else has to know. You’re safe. I promise.”

Arthur takes a rattling breath before releasing my shirt from his fists. “He wants,” he says slowly-so slowly, every word an effort. “them to make me…” His hands find their way to his stomach, the same stomach I kissed last night. The stomach that Arthur confessed he wished could hold my pup. I wrap Arthur up so no part of him is exposed to the world. 

“He wants to sterilize you.” I breath, my voice just barely level as I hold my lover as he shakes. “So you can’t have babies.” Arthur sobs, heart wrenching and blood freezing wails. And I hold him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are we feeling? Thoughts?


	45. Turmoil

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So to ease myself back into my frame of mind, this starts out kind of heavy but them it takes on a hurt/comfort fluff. I hope you like it and that you think it fits into the story well enough. I will be writing more frequently soon.

Merlin holds me as the rest of the meeting continues. Enough pieces of the conversation make their way through my sobbing that I know enough of what’s going on-my father is launching an investigation at the Compound, Doctor Gaius is his main target, and if he isn’t already running then he would likely be imprisoned, but he would be hunted when he ran. I curled into Merlin as I tried to calm down and as he talked to Elder Gregory and Mithian stewed next to us. 

“We’re going to hold council tonight in the Sacred Circle to decide whether or not to send a guide to collect Gaius,” Elder Gregory said as things began to quiet down. “There are many things to discuss if we decide to extend an invitation, such as whether or not to include your mother Merlin…”

“Send me,” Mithian snapped. “You sent me for Merlin. Send me, I’ll make sure that my aunt and the doctor and the omega get here safely.”

“No Mithian,” Elder Gregory said with a shake of his head. “We agreed to that as a one-time thing because Merlin was your cousin and we thought it would be better if he was approached by someone his own age, but this is far riskier. From what we’ve gathered Mr. Pendragon…”

At the mention of my father’s name I stiffened and whimpered; I didn’t know how Merlin would feel once he put two and two together-my father was a monster. Merlin’s arms around me tightened even as my instincts told me I should be running. Mithian became very disgruntled within the next few minutes as Elder Gregory continued to shoot her down. I didn’t like the raised voices that were growing louder around Merlin and I, but thankfully it ended with a “fine!” growled out from deep in Mithian’s chest. 

Merlin helped usher me up and out of the room as we followed Mithian; she was storming and grumbling under her breath. My legs were shaky and I kept my head tucked into Merlin’s shoulder, but I could feel the relief as we walked into the fresh air. “Mithian,” Merlin’s voice called gently. “Please, just calm down-getting upset isn’t going to do any good. Think about the positive side, you won’t need to leave Catarina again; you know that she needs you, especially when she’s expecting. Please Mith, just try to see this as a good thing.”

Maybe it was the fact that they were both Alphas, but I felt my skin tighten as I heard Mithian fuming. “I can’t deal with this right now,” she grumbled as she paced back and forth in front of us. “You don’t get it Merlin, it’s because of Cat that I need to be on this mission. If I can’t get on the Elder’s good side then there’s no way I’ll ever get permission to marry her. They’re the important ones. Everyone around here looks up to them. They keep the peace. Cat’s family won’t even think twice about sending her away if I can’t get the Elders to see me as a responsible member of their community.”

Her voice continued to rise and rumble as she spoke faster. I felt Merlin tense up. But before he could say anything Mithian stopped. “I just need to get out of here for a while. Here,” I peeked out from Merlin’s shoulder in time to see her shove a set of keys into his hand. “Take Arthur home, I’ll be home later if anyone asks. Don’t tell them about me being pigheaded in front of the Elders, but tell them whatever else you want. I’ll see you later.”

We watched in confounded silence as Mithian turned on her heel and began to speed walk down the street, her coat whipping past people as they soon overtook her slight form. Once Mithian had disappeared through the growing crowds, Merlin slowly began walking us to the car. “C’mon,” he whispers as more people mill around us on their daily journey. “Mithian will be fine, we should get home.”

I can’t help stumbling a bit, my mind and body unable to do as I want in the sack of everything that had happened in such a short amount of time. Merlin opens the passenger side door and helps me inside before dashing over to the driver’s door and slipping inside next to me. He starts the car’s engine calmly as I stare dumbly out the front window. His eyes flicker to me every few seconds as he proceeds to pull the car into the flow of traffic. 

“You okay Arthur, you haven’t said anything since the meeting?” Merlin’s voice is quiet as he turns the car onto the street with his Uncle’s house towards the end. 

To be honest, I was just barely starting to feel like I was back in my body, and Merlin’s gentle driving was much appreciated. I turn to him, my eyes still unable to focus completely. “Home,” I breathe in my dazed state. “Where is home anymore?”

Merlin’s smart, he knows before I do. He parks the car in silence. He helps me out of the car and into the house. Just as he manages to get us up the stairs everything starts to crumble inside me. It starts with stinging eyes but within minutes Merlin’s situated me comfortably on our bed; I curl in on myself as the sobs rack my body, Merlin tucked carefully behind me. While I lay half in his lap crying he ran a soft hand over my back and pressed sweet lips to the shell of my ear. 

I could hear him through my tears. “Ssshh sweet one.” “You’re safe now Arthur.” “I’ve got you, it’s okay.” All sweet things, but I couldn’t help the breaking of my heart. My home was gone. I had never had one in the first place. My own father wanted to destroy me. I wanted to be strong, show Merlin I wasn’t just some fragile Omega bitch; but here we were, me falling apart and him comforting me. But I can’t stop, it’s like something inside me has just broken and I can’t fake it any longer. I know Merlin will forgive me my weakness. 

Eventually I run out of tears, probably from dehydration, but the rest of my face is oozing moisture and I’m still whimpering out choked sobs. Merlin shifts so he can lay behind me. “That’s it Arthur, just calm down and keep breathing. You’re doing so good.” He slowly slides an arm around my waist, almost cautiously-afraid I might break. 

I grab his hand as it makes it way over my hip bone, slowly bringing it up to my chest. “Don’t leave me, okay?” I mumble through a sniffle. 

“Never,” he replies solemnly. I feel him lean in close to my neck. He presses a few soft loving kisses there before he whispers “Together. You and me, that’s our new home. Right Arthur?”

A strangled chortle escapes from me involuntarily as a smaller wave of tears makes its way slowly down my cheeks. These are different. They’re still sadness, but they’re bitter and tinged with sweetness. Merlin still wants me, still loves me, even when everyone else in the world might see me as a mistake. He wants to be my home. I want that too, I think. If only I wasn’t so bloody emotional right now. Instead I just tighten my grip on his hand as I lace our fingers together. I nod quietly as the room begins to be overtaken by the soft sound of breathing and sniffling. And for a moment, the quiet is all I want. Quiet. And Merlin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't help but love my little cinnamon bun Arthur. I want him to be happy, but he's kind of broken and Merlin is doing his best...   
> your thoughts and opinions are always appreciated and exciting.


	46. In the Shadows of the Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merlin's POV. We're getting a little bit more plot, a slow build though so I hope that you're still with me. I have 4 stories going at once on here so I'm trying to give everyone a fair amount of time. I love summer writing, but it does keep me up late which throws off my life.

By the time Arthur has fallen asleep it’s nearly dark outside and the house is eerily silent. I was too preoccupied with Arthur when we came in, but now that he’s sound asleep clutching my hand under his chin I can’t hear a single thing besides his soft breathing and the thrum of his heartbeat. For a long time I just stare down at the beautiful Omega I’ve been blessed with; he’s so strong and so fierce in his love and in his loyalty, he doesn’t deserve to be treated like this. He deserves to have a home, a safe place where he can be guaranteed peace and love. I want so much to be able to give that to him. I stroke the blonde fringe of hair off his forehead so that I can see the light reflected off his golden eyelashes. 

Arthur needs me to be strong, because for right now I am his safe place. I hope I’m up to the task; I feel a wave of doubt wash over me, something I had been holding in so as to keep it hidden from Arthur. I was never really “Alpha” material, now was I, I thought to myself; my mother had hidden me away and raised me to be kind and gentle-I wasn’t the warrior that Mithian seemed to be, and there was no desire inside me to become some sort of macho masculine icon. That just isn’t who I am, I remind myself. I hope that I’ll be enough for Arthur, as I am. 

I lean forward to press a soft kiss to Arthur’s forehead. I smile as he scrunches up his face and shifts in his sleep; he lets go of my hand and ends up with his face smashed into the duvet and his fists clenched beneath his chest. My sweet Arthur, I thought as I carefully slid off the bed. 

I made sure that the drapes were closed before I made my way to the door. I took one last look at the boy on the bed, the one who had single-handedly stolen my heart, before I quietly exited the room and closed the door behind me. Arthur would be hungry when he woke up, and I may as well see if anyone else was home, so I headed down stairs.

The rest of the house appeared just as dark as our bedroom had been, and just as quiet. So I wasn’t expecting anyone to be in the living room when I walked into it on the way to the kitchen. 

“Merlin?” I gasped in surprise as I spotted Elder Gregory sitting in the pool of light coming from the single lamp that was lit in the room. He stood up slowly as I stood there, my feet bare and my limbs heavy. My head felt completely empty. “I’m sorry if I startled you Merlin,” he was dressed in casual clothes. I was filled with a sudden dread, wondering if I had done something to get myself in trouble or if Arthur could be in trouble. 

“Elder Gregory,” I managed to get out as a way of greeting. 

“Merlin, I’m concerned.” He bent to take his seat, gesturing for me to sit across from him. “I know that the council meeting this morning didn’t go very well for either Arthur or yourself. But I hope you know that I never intended for either of you to be hurt - why, I didn’t even expect you to be there.”

I gingerly settled myself into the armchair in front of Elder Gregory, my body still stiff from the instincts running through me that told me that something was very wrong. “Mithian was sure that there was something that we should be there for, something that we could do to help, turns out she was only partially right.”

Elder Gregory nodded solemnly. “It was a lot to take in, I know, but Merlin I’m hoping you might be willing to help me still; I know that Mithian offered her services for this “extraction” as we call it, but I have other plans for her that involve her staying here for the time being. However, I came here to talk about your great-Uncle and how you might be able to help me gather some information that might help his circumstance.”

I nodded silently, my eyes drawn to the jeans and golf shirt that seem so out of place on the man before me. “I didn’t know he was my Uncle if that matters at all, but you did say that my mother was with him didn’t you?”

“According to our Seers yes, she’s currently with your Uncle.” Gregory wrung his hands in his lap. “They’re all moving together, so the picture keeps changing. What we need to know is about the possible route that they might take since we’re unfamiliar with the area; any information you might be able to provide could help. It would be helpful if Arthur could tell us about his father’s resources and what might be following your Uncle, but I could see how upset he was.” There’s a pause while Elder Gregory looked down at his hands with guilt on his face. “I would never ask him to relive any sort of pain, not after I saw the pain on his face today.”

“His father wants to erase who he truly is,” I say softly. “I may have never met the man, but I can tell from what Arthur has said that he’s the epitome of gender bigotry. He wants for Arthur to be something he can’t be, so he plans to destroy who he is.”

Gregory remains quiet for a long moment. “Uther Pendragon is a man not to be reckoned with lightly. His hatred was just emerging when this Sanctuary was created, and I can tell that it has only grown in the years that have passed. I’m surprised that Gaius worked so closely with him.”

I can’t help but smirk at that. “I don’t think Gaius was really working with Uther so much as trying to combat his cruel practices. He treated me very well when I was there; of course, it makes more sense now that I know that we’re related. He made sure to get information concerning my mother, and he took such care of Arthur-in ways that he could because of his medical training.”

Gregory nods again. “He was always a clever man; I was convinced for the first year that I knew him that he must be some sort of trickster.” He chuckles at his memories. “When he was preparing to leave I begged him to stay, told him that I would send out escorts to fetch his wards if only he would stay here. He was so devoted to his family though and I couldn’t dissuade him.”

“What can I say though that might help you?” I try to think back to everything that I talked about with the doctor. 

“Well, start by telling me about your mother. We know that they’re traveling together now and that she’s helping care for the Omega that they’re harboring. Tell me about your journey until Mithian found you; the terrain was wooded, correct?”

I nod. “I don’t know the area that well either, but once we were out of the Compound we headed towards the woods because we knew they’d be looking for us in the village if we went looking for help there. It’s a thick, dense pine forest that creeps up the hills. We managed to find a small abandoned water wheel house the first night after the escape; good thing too because Arthur was exhausted from his heat and I was completely consumed by trying to control myself what with my rut hitting around that time.” I smile remembering holding Arthur through the cold night, unsure if I was warmer or if just being with him made me feel that way. “And there were these amazing flowers that we saw as we were walking at night.”

“Moon Daisies,” Gregory says with a grin. “That was something that Mithian saw in her vision. It gave her a way to locate you because they grow in very secluded and unique atmosphere.”

My smile grows. “That was the first time my magic showed itself. I was so glad to have Arthur with me; he kept me from freaking out too horribly, accepted it before I had even realized what was going on.” 

I clear my throat as I try to clear away the blush that I feel burning my cheeks. “You’ve been very good to him Merlin,” Gregory says softly. 

“He’s been good to me too,” I reply earnestly. “I’m not sure if you’re aware that my mother raised me separately from the world of alphas and omegas; she taught me to be gentle, kind, considerate, and helpful. When I was first taken to the Compound I was frightened by the men that surrounded me while they seemed equally frightened of me. Then when I met Arthur I prayed to all the gods I could think of that he would never be frightened of me. He wasn’t, and from that point on I made a promise to myself that he would never need to fear me-I would be the man my mother raised me to be. I’ve kept my promise so far.”

“The Compound must have been quite a shock to you,” Gregory’s forehead crinkles. “Our Seers say that the images they see of your mother show her looking weary. Has she been ill recently?”

I nod. I fill Gregory in on what I know of my mother’s illness and her stay in the hospital after I was taken to the Compound. “You saved her life Merlin; I’m sure you know that. I hope you don’t think that she would be disappointed in you being taken away; I’m sure once she arrives she’ll tell you herself just how proud she is of your bravery.”

I nod my head in silence. “We’ll have quite a lot to discuss once we see each other again.” My words echo around us for a moment, their stony truth weighing heavy on the room. 

“You may not think that this information is helpful Merlin, but it is.” I meet Gregory’s eyes; they’re filled with a warmth of wisdom. 

“I wish I could do more though,” I whisper. “I know that three lives hang in the balance. I wish I knew more about —“

“My Father,” Arthur’s voice breaks through the somber ambiance. I bolt up and spin to see Arthur standing at the entrance of the living room; he’s got the fuzzy flannel blanket that was at the end of our bed wrapped around his body. He looks like a small child in the shadows that are being thrown on his face from the single lamp. 

I hold my arms open towards him and he slowly makes his way into them. I let my arms tighten around him, a soft sigh coming from within his blanket cocoon. With his head hanging over my shoulder, and a pout that I can hear without seeing, I hear Arthur address Gregory. “Merlin’s family is mine now as well, so if it will help I will give you as much information about the father that was never mine. Having Uther thwarted in his vengeance will just be a perk.”

Gregory hums his agreement, stoic in his silence. There’s plenty of room for us to share the chair, so I make sure that Arthur is comfortable as we squish together in the dim light. My arm finds its way into the blanket and around my lovers’ waist. Arthur leans into my touch and our embrace only deepens. After a moment of comfort Arthur lifts his eyes to the man across from us. 

“Uther Pendragon is a relentless villain.” He takes a deep breath before continuing. “You must save Merlin’s family, but by saving them you are surely bringing war to your doorstep…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Love you all, leave me some love if you are so inspired.

**Author's Note:**

> please comment and/or kudos so I know if people are reading and/or liking what I'm writing


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